


Adrinette April 2019 - The Intoxication Catalyst

by Writers_Muse



Series: Themed Month-Long Series [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accident, Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste Is a Little Shit, Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrien Dupain-Cheng - Freeform, Adrien Is An Ass Man, Adrinette, Adrinette April, Adrinette April 2019, Adrinette is Kinky, Alya Césaire Is A Good Bro, Alya Césaire Is The Best, Alya Césaire Ships It, Awkwardness, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Bro!Alya, Chapter 11 Explicit, Chapter 8 Mature, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Comfort, Dom/sub Undertones, Drunk Marinette Is Emotional And Chatty, Drunk!Marinette, Explicit section marked, F/M, Fashion Show, First Dates, Fist Bump, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gabriel Agreste Trying To Be A Good Parent, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Being Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Hawkmoth Defeat, Hospitalization, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Sex, Injury, Jealous Adrien Agreste, Kinky, Ladybug Movie Sequel, Light Dom/sub, Living Together, Loneliness, Marichat, Marriage Proposal, Masturbation, Meeting the Parents, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mixed The Ships Together, Mutual Masturbation, Nightmares, No Sex, No Smut, Oops, Parents are embarrassing, Phone Sex, Protective Adrien Agreste, Protective Alya Césaire, Protective Gabriel Agreste, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Reveal, Soulmates, Sub!adrien, Wingman!Alya, Young Love, bed sharing, complete work, drunkinette, elopement, everyday heroes, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:06:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 28,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_Muse/pseuds/Writers_Muse
Summary: Adrinette April 2019A series of connected chapters and drabbles about the progression of Adrien and Marinette's relationship.Prompts listed in the chapter notes.





	1. The Intoxication Catalyst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's had it with Adrien calling her "just a friend," and ends up drinking more than she should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrinette April 2019  
> Day 1: Just a Friend

“Just friends, my ass,” Marinette muttered to herself, stumbling slightly as she took a step forward, cushy blanket slung around her shoulders and mostly empty bottle of wine in her hand.

Seconds after she ~~collapsed~~ sat in her lounge chair, the soft thud of boots landing on her rooftop terrace sounded, signaling the arrival of her sort-of second best friend.

“Oh, well, shit, whatdayaknow?” she slurred to the air, unfocused gaze directed at the man stood in front of her, catsuit and all.  “Another ‘just a friend.’” Then she scoffed, raising the bottle to her lips and tilting her head dramatically back.

“Whoa, there, princess,” the slightly fuzzy-looking hero-in-black-leather cautioned, reaching out with both hands to take the bottle from hers, cautiously so as not to spill the staining liquid on her clothes or blanket.  Eyes somewhat wide in surprise, he looked at her, expression clearly concerned. “What’s going on?”

Marinette frowned, eyes blinking almost lazily as she tried to get a clear picture of her partner.  With an unsteady hand, she reached up and pointed at one of his faces.

“Yaknowhat?” she asked, though it came out as all one word.  “I’m done. I’ve had it. You stupid, pretty blond boys and your sexy asses.  If I have to hear him refer to me as ‘just a friend’ one more time….” Then she trailed off as if she lost her train of thought, frown deepening as her gaze transitioned from the hero to the vacant air beside them.  “What was I saying?”

Chat watched her silently for a second, cheeks flushed and mouth agape.

“Uh, just a friend.  You’re just a friend,” he offered, still stuck on ‘sexy asses’ and unsure whether his reminder was considered helping or not.

“Right,” she stated with a tone of determination, attempting to stand and gather her blankets around her, but almost teetering over to the floor.

“Hey, it’s ok, princess,” Chat said, trying to stop her from falling into a messy, dizzy heap.  “Just, take a seat. Tell Chat what this is all about.”

She plopped down into the lounge chair again with a huff.

“You know somethin’, Chat?  He called me ‘just a friend’ again today, I shit you not.  That’s, like, Idunno, th’eleventh time?” She hiccuped, turning to look up at him.  “This month?”

Chat gulped, confused why his classmate’s rosy cheeks and slightly red nose made his heart race.  He attributed it to his concern for her clearly compromised well-being.

"I'm sorry.  That's really hard."

“It is!” she agreed, indignant.  “And just-” Her hands came up on either side of her face, fingers clenched as she growled at the air.  “I don’t think that’s ever gonna change, so after three years of crushing on that oblivious idiot, I’m officially calling it a day.”  After that announcement, Marinette drew out another bottle from somewhere on the other side of her chair, one that Chat hadn’t seen, and lifted it to her lips before he had a chance to remove it from her grasp.

“Whoa, princess, slow down,” he pleaded, struggling with her a bit before he was able to wrestle the bottle from her grip.  She pouted at him, crossing her arms. “Maybe we should keep a level head here. Why don’t you try talking to me about it instead of, you know, giving yourself alcohol poisoning?”

Marinette frowned at the ground, lips pursed, and Chat’s heart twisted in his chest.  Since when had Marinette been so adorable?

She had always been _cute_ , for sure, but for some reason, seeing her like this, it made his insides clench, both at seeing her in obvious pain, and at not being the one capable of making her feel this way.  But, since when had that mattered to him?

Chat pushed his thoughts away, doing his best to focus on his second best friend.  Well, maybe third.  Maybe tied for second.  It was a toss up.

Then, to the black cat hero’s horror, her nose scrunched up, eyes squinting as tears filled them and spilled over onto her cheeks.

“Why doesn’t he _want_ me, Chat?” she cried, voice thick.

“Oh, hey, hey, come here,” he said, sitting beside her as best he could and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  It did things to him, making his heart flip, when she leaned her head on his shoulder and cried. “It’s all right, princess.  It’s gonna be all right,” he soothed, rubbing circles on her upper arm as she sniffled into his chest. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Oh, Chat,” she sighed, voice thick with tears.  “It’s nothing. I’m just being an idiot.”  
  
“I highly doubt you could ever be an idiot.”

“Oh, but I _can_.  I’ve been chasing the same hopeless dream for three years.  Doesn’t that sound idiotic?”

Unsure what to say, he remained silent.

“It’s just that- after all this time- you’d think I would _learn_.”  And on the last word, she broke down into a sob.  Chat did his best to shush and comfort her as she cried against him.

“Princess, hey, listen to me.  You’re one of my favorite people in the whole world.  You know that? There isn’t anyone I would rather be with right now than you, right here, snot and all.”

Marinette giggled, looking up at him with a tear-streaked face, nose dripping and red.

“Chat, I love you, too.  I’m only sorry I can’t give you want you want.”

Chat watched her for a moment, expression confused as he wondered what she was talking about.  Before he could figure it out, she laid her head against his chest.

“You’re such a good partner, Chaton.  I love how you take care of me. In and out of the suit.”

Something inside Chat’s brain broke, and he froze, eyes looking intensely at the open air as the hair on the back of his neck prickled.

“I promise, after this, I’m totally _done_ with Adrien Agreste.”  Chat was vaguely aware of the high pitched whine that was beginning to come to life in his throat.  “He’s too hung up on Ladybug to see her when she’s standing right in front of him.”

Chat’s jaw dropped, but he remained incapable of speech.

In his state of total system shutdown, Marinette pushed herself away from his chest to look him in the face.

“Yaknow,” she began, speech still slurred. “Maybe I _should_ give you a chance, Minou.”  And before he could say anything, she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then drew back with a crooked smile. She tasted like Cabernet Sauvignon.  “No one’s ever been as good to me as you are. Thank you, Kitty.”

Chat nodded enthusiastically, mute and stupefied.  Marinette broke out into a blinding grin.

“You’re my kitty, and I’m your lady.”

Chat remained dumbstruck, his heart shattering.

“I’m sorry I’ve been hurting you all this time, Chat.  You deserve so much more.  Adrien Agreste can go jump in the Seine.”

Then Chat began choking on air, suddenly having trouble breathing.

“Not really,” the drunk girl continued.  “It’s not his fault he doesn’t feel the same way about me.  He’s the sweetest guy I know.”

Marinette’s voice trailed off as though she realized the truth of what she just said, and tears began to form anew in her eyes.

“Oh, kitty,” she whimpered, “please, tell me what is wrong with me.”

Finally gaining some control over himself, the masked hero cleared his throat.

“Eh- uh-” his voice came out much higher than he intended.  He paused and tried again. “Adrien Agreste you say? Well, I mean, he’s a nice guy and all, but between you and me,” and here he resisted the urge to smack himself over how true this statement was, “he’s as thick as a brick.”

Marinette snorted and broke down into a fit of giggles, pulling a fine smile out of the mortified boy next to her. Oh, if she knew how true those words were.

“Thanks, kitty,” she said, holding him tighter as she nuzzled into his chest.  His arm came up to rub soothingly at her back and shoulders.

“Anytime, princess," he said, swallowing.  "Anytime.”

* * *

Marinette stumbled into class the next morning, fuzzy memories of guzzling a bottle of wine and snuggling against her partner the night before ricocheting painfully around her hungover head.

She couldn’t remember exactly what she said, but Tikki appeared to be upset with her for some reason.

So, it definitely couldn’t be good.

In all, though, she just wanted to get through the day, half-dreading seeing Adrien after her ridiculous embarrassment the day before, right after Nino left a very un-subtle hint about him maybe having a crush on Marinette, and Adrien’s typical reply at such suggestions: “Marinette is just a friend,” he would say, complete with lighthearted laughter that anyone could ever think anything else.  She ran out of the classroom on the verge of tears.

As she walked unsteadily to her seat, however, she was surprised to see said blond boy standing by her desk, shuffling anxiously from one foot to the next.

Despite her headache, she did her best to give him her full attention, concerned that something was really wrong.

“A- Adrien?  Is everything ok?”

His wide eyes raised up from their focus on the ground to meet her own, mouth parted and hand coming up to rub the back of his neck in an oddly familiar way.

“Marinette-” he laughed nervously.  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“You are?” she asked, completely surprised.

“Yea, o-of course.  Actually, I needed to t- talk to you.  Do you have a minute?”

Alya let out a tiny squeal behind her, which the girl ignored.  Hungover or not, she was going to see what was wrong with her friend.

“Y- yea, o- of course,” she assured him, clearly nervous as she preceded him out of the classroom door, shutting it behind them.

As they stood in the hall, Adrien’s eyes darted about for a moment before coming to rest on her face almost with a look of determination.

“Marinette,” he began, brow slightly furrowed.  “I realized recently that there may be more to our relationship than being ‘just friends.’”  At the phrase, he appeared to both cringe and wince. Clearing his throat, he continued. “I- is there any way that you might be interested in going out on a date… with me?  As… more than friends?”

Marinette gaped at the boy in front of her, completely taken aback and half-convinced that she was still drifting in an alcohol-induced dream.

“I’m sorry, what?” she finally asked, unable to process.

The blond chuckled nervously, his eyes falling to her shoulder instead of her face.

“I guess I’ve been a little in denial for a while about the fact that I like you-” Marinette almost melted into a puddle of goo at his confession.  “-but something last night kind of woke me up, and I realized how important you are to me. I was hoping we could maybe give a relationship a chance?”  It came out unsure, like a question. “If that would be something you would want?”

Marinette’s mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, unable to formulate a coherent thought.

Finally, she managed, “Uh, date go out with you I will.”

At this broken, grammatical trainwreck of a sentence, Adrien’s nervous expression changed to one of absolute excitement, his grin nearly splitting his face in two.

“That’s great!  I can’t wait!”

Then he grabbed her hands, and she subconsciously recognized a tremor in his own.  Hesitating for a second, he suddenly leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek, drawing back and blinding her with his smile.

“We have so much to talk about-”

Then the bell for class rang, and his excitement tempered.

“-but I guess that will have to wait.  Shall we, princess?” he asked her, offering his elbow for her to take and turning toward the classroom door.  Something in the back of her mind nagged at her about that nickname.

“O-k,” she agreed, taking his arm hesitantly and allowing him to lead her into the classroom.

And if everyone in the class was exchanging money, including Miss Bustier, as Chloe shrieked and demanded to know what was going on, Marinette couldn’t be bothered to care.

Because, as it turned out, Adrien _didn’t_ consider her “just a friend.”

And nothing else mattered.


	2. The Cat and His Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is trying to find ways to be closer to Marinette, but his plans are foiled when a new student arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrinette April day 2 prompt: Seat Buddies
> 
> Continuation of storyline from day 1

It had been only a few days since Adrien asked Marinette out on a date, but they had yet to determine a specific time and place.

In the past, he always appreciated his seat in the front, less so that time he was forced to sit next to Lila, but now that he knew his future girlfriend and the love of his life was sitting exactly one seat behind him, it was the worst possible place to be, to know how close she was and be unable to ~~stare~~ look at her.

To make matters worse, Marinette still hadn’t really relaxed around him, and without any real time alone with her, he had been unable to find the ideal moment to confess to her that he knew who she was- and hope that she didn’t turn around and reject him on the spot in the belief he only asked her out in the first place because he discovered her secret.

He was completely sure she had no reliable memory of the night she accidentally revealed herself, but it was something he would never forget.  He only hoped she would believe him when he told her how much he was already falling in love with Marinette, his previous state of denial notwithstanding.

For the hundredth time that morning, Adrien did his best to turn nonchalantly in his seat in an effort to get a better look at the girl who had hijacked his every thought.  Alya snorted knowingly, and he blushed, turning back to face the front, lest Marinette think he was some sort of stalker. In all reality, he had become aware within the last several days of just how much Marinette had liked him, and, honestly, it was nothing compared to how doggedly he obsessed over his lady.  Finding out she and Marinette were the same person was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Adrien sighed, looking at the empty space beside him.  Nino’s absence for the day left him with no one to talk to, no one to roll their eyes at his love-sick puppy expression.  It also made Adrien’s penchant for shenanigans all the more tempting. When he saw Alya stand up from her seat to allow Marinette to pass by on her way to the restroom, he surreptitiously motioned her over, waiting until the teacher wasn’t looking before leaning over and whispering to the redhead, “Hey.  Why don’t you sit in Nino’s spot, and I can have yours?”

Alya snorted again, catching the teacher’s attention as she pretended that she was getting a pencil from the boy.

“What’s the matter, sunshine, a little jealous?”

Adrien’s face felt tight, like he was doing his best to keep a neutral expression.

“No,” he answered, hoping it worked.  “I just need a little help with the literature homework, that’s all.”

“Right,” she retorted, unconvinced.  “Mr. Perfect Grades in Everything needs help with his homework.”

Irritation crossed the blond’s features.

“Are you going to do it, or not?”

“Relax, model boy,” she answered, holding up her hands in surrender.  “I’m on it.”

Alya crept quietly up to her seat and collected her belongings, sitting down as quietly as she could while muttering, “You owe me, pretty boy.”

Adrien gave her a grateful grin, bending over to grab his own bag of books as silently as possible before the teacher turned back around.  Just then, another, unfamiliar person walked into the room, drawing everyone’s, including the teacher’s, attention to the classroom door.

“Oh, Claude!  I wasn’t aware you would be arriving until tomorrow,” Miss Bustier greeted, coming around from her desk and walking over to the strange boy.  “Everyone, please welcome Claude, a new addition to our room today.”

Marinette passed through the doorway as everyone said hello, confusion apparent on her face.

“Oh, Marinette!  You have perfect timing,” the teacher continued, sending Adrien’s hackles up.  “I’d like you to show Claude around the school. He’s a potential transfer from another school, and I know you can make him feel welcome.”

Marinette nodded enthusiastically, her face contorting in surprise when she realized Alya was sitting next to Adrien.  Adrien looked at her, unhappy with the turn of events.

“How lucky!” he heard their teacher say as she took in the new seating arrangement.  “Thank you, Alya for giving up your seat. Claude, you can sit next to Marinette.”

The two teens did as they were told, Marinette preceding the new boy up to their desk as Adrien watched, a flush of jealousy washing over him when he saw how eager the new boy looked to be sitting next to _his_ princess.  Who was this kid, and how dare he even consider looking at her?

Adrien didn’t take his eyes off them as they both sat down, _Claude_ leaning into Marinette’s space with a too-friendly grin and causing her to lean back slightly.

“Looks like we’re seat buddies,” the boy said.

Adrien growled, causing everyone in the room to stop and stare.  Marinette looked at him, eyes wide and face red.

“Cool it, lover boy,” Alya murmured lowly, causing him to begrudgingly turn around and face the front.

He sat there, stewing in silence, until a piece of paper made its way, slowly and subtly, across the desk in his direction.  Reluctantly, and not without a bit of attitude, he looked down at it.

_Relax he’s not her type_

Alya pulled it back for a second before showing it to him again, this time with something else written under the first message.

_I got this_

Adrien looked up to find amusement and something bordering on protectiveness flashing in Alya’s eyes.  She gave him an almost indiscernible nod and a wink before she raised her hand.

“Miss Bustier!” she called.  The teacher looked up, startled.  “I was actually going to take some pictures for the school newspaper of the various classes around the school.  Is it all right if I go now? I’ve already finished today’s assignment. Oh! And I have a note.”

The bespectacled girl stood up from her seat and walked over to Miss Bustier’s desk, handing her some slip of paper with a professor’s confirmation of her responsibility.  The teacher looked at her for a second before saying, “All right, Alya. Please make sure you turn in your work before you leave, and return to the room if you finish before the end of class.”

Alya gave her a beaming smile.

“You got it, Miss B.”  Then she walked back to the desk, giving Adrien a smirk as she gathered her things.  “Oh!” she exclaimed as though she just had a sudden idea, turning around to face the teacher again, who looked up in surprise.  “Miss Bustier?”

“Is there something else, Alya?”

“Yea!  I just thought, since I’m going to be going around to all the classrooms, I could take Claude with me.  You know, show him around? It would be no trouble.”

Miss Bustier brightened at the idea, giving Alya a look of pride.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Alya!  Thank you so much for offering!”

“It’s no trouble, Miss B,” she replied, giving Adrien a wink before standing and waiting for the confused, and somewhat disappointed, student to join her at the bottom of the steps.  With a last wave, she opened the door and waited for Claude to walk out into the hall before her.

Miss Bustier went back to grading her papers, and Adrien saw his opportunity.  With the quiet quickness of a cat, he grabbed his belongings and plopped himself in the seat next to Marinette, startling her and causing her to jump slightly in her chair.

“Adrien?” she asked, confusion clearly written on her face.

“Hey,” he greeted, leaning closer to her.  To his satisfaction, she didn’t lean away, an adorable blush rising to her cheeks.  His face split into a Cheshire grin. “Seat buddies?”


	3. A Father’s Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien’s date has finally arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrinette April Day 3: Embarrassing
> 
> Adrien’s nervous, and Marinette just wants to get this show on the road. 
> 
> Dad’s can be embarrassing, amiright?

The weekend finally arrived, and Adrien couldn’t control his nerves.  Four long, tortuous days since he asked Marinette if she would go on a date with him, the time had finally arrived.

Getting dressed had never been such a time-consuming, anxiety-inducing task before.  He obsessed about everything, from the particular pairing of his pants, shirt, and shoes, to the way his hair should be styled.  He even agonized over whether he was too dressed up or not dressed up enough.

Taking a final look in the mirror, Adrien let out a shuddering breath, smoothing the front of his white oxford-style shirt with his hands.  He decided eventually, after trying on multiple outfits, to go with a classic look: white oxford, black pants, and casual dress shoes. For a more laid-back appearance, he left the top two buttons of the shirt undone.

His hair, on the other hand, was hopeless.  No matter what he did, he couldn’t tame it down into the slick-backed look he was going for.  Instead, it kept falling in front of his eyes, not unlike when he was Chat Noir. Much too soon, he was alerted that his chauffeur was waiting, and he walked with trembling legs out to the car.

He stared out the window for the entire drive, which really wasn’t very long to begin with, without truly seeing any of the scenery passing him by.  At long last, the car arrived in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery, Gorilla opening the door for him to exit the vehicle.

Adrien did his best to control his breathing, splaying out his hand by his sides in an effort to lessen their shaking.  Just when he was about to ring the bell for the door, it flew open, a rather panicked looking Marinette on the other side.

“Adrien!  It’s so good to see you!  You look really nice! Now let’s go!”

The blond stood, surprised and rooted in place at the onslaught of Marinette the Whirlwind.  Before he knew what was happening, she was grabbing his arm and attempting to rush out into the hallway, door closing behind her.

Before it was fully shut, however, a large, burly hand curled around its edge, holding it open.  Marinette let out a low whine.

“Adrien!” a booming, enthusiastic voice carried through the space as the door re-opened.  Marinette’s shoulders slumped, and she let out a low groan, turning slowly back toward the apartment.

“It’s good to see you, son!  Come in!”

Adrien looked at Tom Dupain for a moment, eyes wide, before timidly crossing the threshold behind his date.

“Papa, _please_ ,” Marinette begged, “we’re going to be late for our reservation.”

Truthfully, she had no idea if that was true or not, and Adrien blinked in surprise upon hearing her say that.  Did she know what he had planned for her? Tom brushed off her complaint.

“Oh, nonsense, kids.  This will just take a minute.  It wouldn’t be a proper date without a little awkward chatting with the parents first!  Sabine! He’s here!”

Fully aware she was not getting out of this, Marinette dragged a hand down her face, walking sullenly toward the couch and she pulled Adrien behind her by the hand.  He followed her willingly.

“Adrien!”

Sabine Dupain-Cheng entered the living room, pleasant smile on her face.

“I’m so glad you and Marinette are _finally_ going on this date!” she declared as she approached the couch.  “It took you long enough to ask her, you know!”

There was nothing accusatory in her tone, but Marinette groaned again nonetheless.  Adrien continued watching in silent awe.

“Marinette has been waiting for this for three years!” she added, and Marinette lowered her face to her hands.

“ _Oh my Goood.  This is so embarrassing_ ,” she lamented, voice muffled by her palms.

Adrien’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“W- well, Madame Dupain-Cheng-”

“Oh, call me Sabine, dear.”

“And you can call me Tom!” Her husband intoned.

Adrien nodded.

“Well, S- Sabine, Tom, I actually have been interested in Marinette for a really long time, too.”  Then he looked at her, suddenly unable to breath as he watched her raise her face to look at him, face flushed, mouth parted, and eyes sparkling.  He smiled softly. “I wish I knew sooner that there was a chance she felt the same.”

The two teens watched each other in silence, unaware of the duo of “aww” that emanated from the two adults across from them.

“Well, son,” Tom said after a moment, startling them both out of their trance, “as long as you take care of my little girl, we’ll be all right.”  Both Tom and Sabine stood then, and Adrien rushed to follow suit, Marinette the last to rise from the couch.

The blond reached out to grab Marinette’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he gazed at her fondly.

“That won’t be a problem, sir.”

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, and Adrien turned to meet the bright green eyes so high above his own.

“I believe that.  Now, come on, you two are going to be late for your date!”

And with that, the burly man began ushering the two blushing teens toward the door.

“Please, papa, you’re embarrassing me,” Marinette whispered.  Her father grinned wide, opening the door for them both.

“That’s a father’s job!” he declared, watching as they passed into the stairwell.

“Oh, and Adrien-”  
  
The boy turned to look back again, stopping Marinette in her beeline for the stairs.

“Remember: I’m not ready to be a grandfather yet!”

“PAPA!”

Adrien’s face turned beet-red, and the large man let out a boisterous laugh, the sound of both his laugh and the slamming of the door echoing through the stairwell as the two embarrassed teens avoided each other’s eyes all the way down.  


	4. The Ice Cream Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien finally get to go on their date, and Adrien has a goal in mind.
> 
> In which Adrien is nervous, Marinette is reassuring, and Plagg is Plagg.
> 
> Adrinette April Day 4: Hide Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't judge me, please! I was super busy today, so this chapter hasn't really been read for editing or anything. I finished it and then posted it without a re-reading. lol. I'll go through it for error and flow probably tomorrow. Wanted to get it done tonight.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> <3 Muse

Marinette’s knee would not stop bouncing under the table all the way through dinner, despite how relaxed Adrien tried to make her feel.  To be honest, she was blown away by the sweet way he had been treating her, from holding her hand everywhere they went, to ducking his head lower to hear her when she talked.  The blush had hardly left her cheeks since the two of them left her house.

When Adrien proposed going to get ice cream from Andre’s, she could only nodded silently, lip between her teeth, and internally she alternated between a scream of joy and a scream of horror.

What if Adrien’s ice cream didn’t match her?

The thought left her quiet, and clearly distracted.

Adrien watched her as she stared into space, absent-mindedly and worriedly chewing on her lower lip.  He wanted to set her mind at ease, wanted to tell her everything he knew, but was afraid it would send her deeper into her anxiety.  Instead, he squeezed her hand, and she looked up, almost startled to find he was still there, before her features softened in response to his soft, fond smile.

“Everything okay, princess?”

Her brow furrowed again slightly, and he mentally kicked himself for prematurely using that nickname.  She seemed to pass over whatever thought it inspired in her head, though, and nodded, her gaze timidly redirecting toward the ground.

“Mmhmm,” she murmured.

Adrien chose not to respond again, hoping that with time and space, she would begin to open up to him on her own.  Sure enough, after a few minutes, she spoke.

“It’s just- you know, I mean, you _know_ now, you know?”

The blond stared at her with wide eyes, uncertain exactly what she was referring to and hoping she cleared it up before he said something stupid.  Her eyes raised to his, a light of determination flashing in them.

“You know, about me, about the way I’ve felt about you all this time, and I guess that’s just a difficult situation to be in.  It kind of makes me feel... vulnerable? If that makes sense? I guess it helps that you seem to like me, too, but it’s just- I don’t know, I guess I feel like you’re going to wake up tomorrow and wonder what the hell you were thinking going out with someone like me.”

Somewhere in the middle of her speech, Marinette turned away from him in favor of looking out at the horizon.  Shocked by her words, Adrien stopped mid-step, holding onto Marinette’s arm until she stopped beside him, hesitantly raising her eyes to his.

“Marinette, I-”

He tried to find the words.  She waited.

“There isn’t anything better than you, Marinette, and that isn’t going to change tomorrow because, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a scientific certainty, up there with the laws of physics.  Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Most amazing human out there. No one else compares.”

The raven-haired girl watched him, pink lips parted in awe, attracting his focus.  Subconsciously, they stepped closer, Adrien leaning lower as Marinette rose up on her toes, eyes fluttering closed.

He was so close, he could almost feel her lips when his eyes flew open.  This was not how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to tell her he knew she was Ladybug, _then_ find out if she still wanted to be with him.  In a panic, he stumbled back, startling Marinette out of her trance and sending a bright red flush all over her face, chest, and neck.

Tears sprung in her eyes as she thought she was being rejected, and she pulled her purse tighter against herself, eyes focused on the ground as she tried to blink away the moisture.

“Marinette, wait-”

“It’s ok, Adrien.  I, uh, I guess I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“No, please, just wait.  It’s not that. It’s not that at all.”

The wetness in her eyes made his heart clench in his chest as she looked up to meet his gaze, waiting.  He took slow steps toward her, wondering how he was going to recover from this flub. Wondering how he was going to tell his lady that he _knew_ her, and they had been in front of each other all along.  More than that, though, he wondered what would happen when he finally told her _just how much_ he loved her.

“Marinette, before this goes any further, there’s something you need to know.”  Her eyes widened, but she remained silent. “Mari, I-”

His voice was cut off, though, but another- a joyful voice, singing a melody he recognized.  Both teens looked in the direction of the sound, which was coming their way. There was no mistaking Andre, the ice cream man.

Some of the tension in the air dissolved, and Adrien and Marinette gave each other small smiles, Adrien reaching out in invitation for her to precede him to the cart.

When they reached the cart, Andre was waiting for them with a large grin splitting his jovial face.

“Marinette!  And you, young man!  Please! Come! I have a special treat just for you two!”

Looking at each other, their cheeks colored, smiles growing just a bit wider.  Before they knew it, Andre was scooping ice cream into a lover’s cone.

Strawberry, blackberry, and mint.  Adrien looked at the flavors, wondering where hers ended and his began.

They thanked Andre, who gave them both an obvious wink before they walked away, two spoons and one cone in their hands as they made their way to a bench.

“You know,” Marinette finally offered, redness in her cheeks, “the first time I ever ate Andre’s ice cream was 3 years ago.”  She paused, looking down at her lap shyly. “‘Peach pink for his lips, mint like his eyes.’ Even he knew how I felt about you.”

Adrien looked down at his lap, too, somewhat ashamed he had been so blind for so long.  Maybe the time had come.

“The first time I ever had Andre’s was 3 years ago, too.  Only, the flavors he chose for me were…” he tossed his head a little from side to side, mouth quirking in the corner.  “They were a little different.”

Marinette continued to watch him, curious as she closed her mouth around a spoonful of mint.  Adrien’s pupils dilated.

“Th- they were, uh,” he swallowed, trying to get up the nerve.  “It was strawberry with chocolate chips, blackberry for her hair, and b- blueberry for her s-sky blue stare.”

The girl in front of him sat, unmoving, for several seconds, her eyes growing wide like saucers.

“It was you,” he finally declared.  She still said nothing. Afraid of how she was going to respond, he looked down again, voice thin and strained as he finally said what he had been trying to say for days.  “I b- believed at the time, i- it was L- Ladybug.” He could hear her gasp. “A- and I wasn’t wr- wrong.”

There it was.  That sharp intake of breath that told him she knew exactly what he meant.

“There are some things I need you to know before you draw the wrong conclusions, so, can you maybe, just wait to make your decision about me until I’m done?”

Lips still parted in surprise, she nodded.  Adrien let out a shuddering breath.

“Ok.  I’m going to tell you a story, and I hope you’ll realize by the end exactly how I feel about you.  So, a few years ago, I started school for the first time. And it happened that, at the same time, something else amazing happened to me.  I met these two incredible girls- both so similar, but one I met before the other, and as soon as I did, I gave her my heart. It didn’t hurt that she was a hero.”  Marinette’s brow furrowed, wondering when he could have met Ladybug, but she kept quiet. “And then, it turned out, the other girl I met, who was so like this hero, that sometimes I wondered if she was somehow better, being heroic even without the help of magic, she was pretty incredible, too.  I became good friends with them both, and over time, the way I felt about one, I started to realize I also felt about the other. It was a struggle for me, the idea that I could somehow love two girls- two of my best friends- equally. I had no idea what to do.”

Then he swallowed, drawing a shuddering breath as he tried to calm his nerves.

“So,” he said in a shaky voice, “imagine my surprise when I was talking to the supposedly ordinary, completely extraordinary girl the other night, and I find out she feels the same about me as I feel about her.  She’s a little drunk, though, so the most I can do is just watch out for her and make sure she’s all right.” Marinette’s eyes widened, wondering how she could have seen Adrien the night she got drunk on her rooftop.  “Imagine, to my even greater surprise, that I discover, completely by accident-” He cleared his throat, voice breaking as he continued. “-that she’s not just one of my best friends- she’s _both_ of them, but she’s my partner, too.  And, to the greatest surprise of all, I love them both more than I ever thought I did- more than I ever thought was possible- because it’s not _two_ of them- it’s one.”

The color drained from Marinette’s face, and Adrien studied her, wondering how she was going to respond.

“Princess?” he finally asked.  “Please, say something?”

Her vacant eyes stared at the emptiness in front of them, cheeks blanched and jaw agape.  The ice cream cone sat on the bench beside them, forgotten.

“Oh, for the love of Fu!” came a nasal voice, followed by the appearance of a little black blur, flying out from the semi-casual blazer Adrien was wearing over his shirt.  “Hey. Marinette. Remember me? Kwami of _destruction_?  You’re going to Cataclsym this kid’s heart if you don’t say something soon, that’s all I’m saying.”

“ _Plagg_!” a squeaky voice hissed, followed by a quick blur of red as Tikki phased out of Marinette’s purse, aiming for her insufferable counterpart.  “They weren't supposed to find out who the other is!  You aren't making it any better!”

The tiny black cat shrieked, darting behind Adrien as best he could, the two of them forming circles around the blond’s head.

“Relax, Sugarcube!  It’s _your_ chosen’s fault!” he called from behind a tuft of golden hair.  Tikki glared at him, large blue eyes narrowing and causing Plagg to cry, “Hide me, Adrien!” before disappearing within the long, messy tresses.

Marinette took it all in with wide eyes, unable to stop the laugh that bubbled out of her throat at their kwami’s antics.  After a second, Adrien’s nervous expression melted into something resembling relief and amusement.

The girl in front of him reached up to run her fingers through his hair as though experimenting, shuffling some of the stubborn hair in front of his forehead, then pulling her hand back and studying him closely.

“Wow,” she finally murmured.  “It’s really you.”

The catboy without a suit swallowed nervously.

“Yea,” he said.  “It’s really me.”

A silence settled between them as the noirette processed everything.  Then her hands were covering her face, and she was groaning into them.

“Oh God.  How stupidly ironic is this whole situation?”

The man across from her gave her a rueful half-smile.

“Oh, I’m aware.”

She shook her head, still hidden behind the veil of her hands.  Adrien reached up slowly, pulling them down when she didn’t resist.

“My lady-” he began, but stopped when her eyelids slammed shut.  “Is- is that ok? That it’s me?”

In the next second, her eyes flew open again, expression of shock and horror written on her face.

“Chaton, of course it’s ok!”  The use of his nickname warmed Adrien’s heart.  “My God, Adrien- it’s probably the best thing I could have ever hoped for.”  Then, the blush that had all but disappeared suddenly returned with a vengeance.  “You’re not the only one who was struggling between feelings for a friend and a partner, Minou.”  

She wouldn’t meet his eyes, so she didn’t see how they sparkled at her admission.

“Are you saying I finally managed to _cat-_ ch your attention, Bugaboo?”

Marinette gave him a deadpan look.

“I regret everything.”

Adrien let out a laugh, reaching out to pull her into a hug, only to realize that she instinctively flinched back.  His laughter quickly died, sudden fear settling on him. Was it too much too fast?

“Bug?”

Marinette closed her eyes again, a pained look on her face.  The dread blossoming inside Adrien grew.

“I think I just- I just need a little bit of time?”  When her eyes opened again, they were begging him to understand.  “I don’t really know how I feel right now? About this? I feel kind of… exposed?  Like, suddenly you know all my secrets, and it’s a lot to wrap my head around.”

She wasn’t sure how she felt?  He tried to hide the sadness on his face, but from the way she was looking at him, he wasn’t very successful.

“Minou-”

“Oh.  Ok,” he said, but it wasn’t.  “Yea, of c- of course. I mean, whatever you decide, I just don’t want us to stop being friends.  Ok? You don’t have to love me, my lady. I just really want to have you in my life, no matter how-”

“Oh, you dumb cat!”

Adrien stopped talking, expression confused and surprised by her outburst.

“I didn’t mean _that_ ,” she said, sighing and reaching up to caress his cheek.  “I just meant- my emotions are all over the place right now, and I think that I just need a little time to feel in control of myself, you know?  This whole thing is kind of giving me system overload, and if I don’t go home and have a proper freak out, we might end up with a broken Ladybug, and we can’t have that.”

Adrien’s facial muscles twitched, hope rekindling in his chest again.

“So… we’re ok?  You’re not… going to stop wanting to be around me or anything?”

Marinette sighed, both exasperated and patient.

“No, kitty,” she answered, causing his heart to skip a beat.  “I _most definitely_ will not be leaving you.  You’re my kitty,” she added, as though that was explanation enough.  “And, once my certified freak-out is over, I’m going to ask you for another date.”

Adrien felt his cheeks flame.

“Oh y- yea?” he asked, somewhat breathless.

“Yea,” she replied, soft smile lighting up her whole being.  Then she rested a hand against his cheek, and he leaned into her touch.  She leaned closer, and like a magnet, he felt himself closing the distance between them.  Their lips were just a breath apart when they stopped, looking into each other’s eyes.

“You know,” she said, gaze falling to his lips before returning to his face.  “ _Before_ I freak out… I figure, while I’ve got the courage, it’s probably a good idea to do this.”

The feel of her lips on his was not new- he had felt it before, usually because of something akuma-related, in addition to her drunken kiss on the rooftop.  But this time, it was special. It was somehow the first time, anyway. It was the first time they were both lucid, the first time they both wanted it, and the first time they both kissed, knowing full well exactly who they were kissing.

It didn’t last long, but it was by far the best kiss either had ever had.  When they both pulled away, they wore matching grins, until two small beings appeared in front of them- one black with green eyes, the other red with black spots.

Tikki looked like she was going to explode from cuteness overload, and Plagg just looked disgusted.

“Yeck,” he gagged, and Tikki rolled her eyes as he darted behind her.  “Sugarcube, hide me!”

Adrien gave Marinette a long-suffering look.

“Wanna trade kwamis?”

She chuckled and tapped his nose.

“Not on your life, Minou.  I like you exactly the way you are- _both_ of you.”


	5. Loose Lips Let Ships Sail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette accidentally sends Adrien a message.
> 
> Day 5: Clumsy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For someone who's supposed to be lucky, Marinette seems to do a lot of embarrassing things. Luckily for her, they usually turn out well.
> 
> In which Marinette accidentally says more than she intends to, and Adrien is ready to make things official.

“Oh, Tikki, this is a disaster!  What am I going to do? Adrien is going to hate it, and then he’s going to realize he doesn’t like me after all, and then our relationship will be over before it even became official, and I’ll have to return my miraculous because Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t be around each other anymore, and-”

“Marinette, for goodness’ sake, stop!”

The panicking girl froze mid-meltdown, eyes wide and frantic, hands ceasing their wild flapping.

“Marinette,” her kwami chastised, “you really need to get better control of your emotions.”

“Ugh, I know, Tikki.”  Marinette covered her face with her hands, a long groan drawing out from her throat.  “I’m such a mess.”

The red and black kwami shook her head fondly, floating up to hover beside her chosen’s head.

“Everything is going to be ok, Marinette.  You have to have more faith in yourself, and in Adrien!”

Marinette’s face reappeared, her hands falling back down to her sides.

“You’re right, Tikki.”  Then she sighed, taking in the mess in her room.  “It’s just- somehow it was so much easier to make him gifts when in the back of my head I knew he would never get them.  But now- _this-_ knowing he’s my partner, too, it just feels like nothing I can make for him will ever be good enough.”  She lifted a finger to point toward the trunk where she put all her gifts for him from the first couple of years, cringing.  She made him _so many presents_ , it was borderline disturbing.  “And _that_ monstrosity- none of them will do, either.  Those were all made with this idealized version of Adrien in mind- _just_ Adrien.  Now he’s Chat, too, and I just don’t know how I can ever be good enough for him after I spent so much time obsessing over someone I made up in my head.”  Overcome by the intensity of her former obsession, she swallowed, sitting down on her bed and looking around. “It was so unhealthy, Tikki, the way I idolized him.  I feel so guilty. I really believed that he was perfect- and I mean, he is perfect, but not in the way I meant it back then. Then it was his perfect face, and his perfect manners, and his perfect _everything._ ”  She paused, considering the boy she knew now.  “ _Now_ … now, it’s his perfect crooked smile, his perfectly ridiculous puns, and his perfect way of getting flustered when Ladybug gets too close- his perfect way of saying sorry when he’s made a mistake, the way he doesn’t always say the right thing, but always says the perfect thing when it matters most.  He’s just… perfect even with his flaws, not because he doesn’t have any. What do you give to someone like that?”

From the seat of her pants, she heard a beeping noise, and she stood up suddenly, startled and frowning.

Reaching into the back pocket, she pulled out her phone, wondering what kind of notification tone that way, only to find that she had just sent an accidental message to Adrien.

A _voice_ message.

Her eyes bugged wide, jaw falling open as she gaped at the treacherous device in her hands.

“Tikki!” she cried.  “I accidentally recorded myself!  What do I do!”

The red kwami had flown close to look at the phone, expression half-concerned and half-amused.

“Well, I’ll tell you what you _aren’t_ going to do: you _aren’t_ going to steal his phone again to erase this message!”

Marinette glared at her tiny friend.

“Don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind, Marinette, I know you too well!”

The girl’s shoulders slumped, her head falling back in despair.

“Oh my God, Tikki, he’s going to think I’m absolutely insane!”

“You could always call him and ask him not to listen to it, you know,” Tikki reminded her.  “He would listen to you.”

Marinette’s eyes brightened.

“You’re right, Tikki!  Oh God, I hope it’s not too late,” she said, looking down at the screen.  It didn’t appear he had read the message yet, as it was the last and only message she sent him that didn’t have a “read” receipt and time stamp.  Her heart fluttered in nervousness.

Just as she was about to tap the icon to call him, though, that hateful and dreaded _read: 16:53_ flashed underneath the voice message.  Her heart sank.

For several minutes she waited for him to say something, or call her, and the longer she went without a response, the more she fell into a spiral of panic.

“He still hasn’t said anything, Tikki, should I send him a message?  Tell him… I don’t know what.”

Tikki looked at her with sympathy, opening her mouth to speak just as a thud sounded overhead.

Marinette’s eyes widened dramatically.

“Tikki, hide!”

The kwami’s expression turned deadpan.

“Oh, right.”  Marinette flapped her hands, vision darting about the room as though looking for an escape.

“Marinette,” came Tikki’s soothing voice, just inches from her face.  Two tiny red nubs of limbs came out to steady the erratic turning of the girl’s head.  “It’s ok. You should talk to him.”

Just then, there was a knock on the trapdoor above her head, and reactively, she tilted her head back to look at it.

“Princess?” came a familiar voice from the other side.  “Can we talk?”

Slowly, she walked to the ladder, climbing it until the door was within reach.  Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open, momentarily blinded by the light of the sun as a black silhouette appeared in the center of her vision.

As the figure came closer, she could make out the green of his luminescent eyes, and the golden shine of his hair glowed around his head like a halo, two black ears projecting upward on either side.  Swallowing, she stepped lower, allowing him to descend.

“C- come inside,” she said.  “It’s the middle of the day. P- people shouldn’t s- see you up here.”

The door shut above Chat’s head, cutting off the overwhelming brightness of the unfiltered day.  Chat climbed down the ladder almost fearfully, fingers fidgeting nervously as he looked at the girl in front of him.

“S- should I d- destransform?”

Marinette considered that for a moment, then nodded.

In a bright green flash, Chat Noir disappeared, leaving Adrien Agreste in his place.

“H- hi, princess.”

The girl smiled nervously, a look which Adrien returned.

“So,” he began, voice trembling slightly.  “Did- did you really mean it? All of it?”

Terrified, Marinette looked down at the floor, her heart hammering in her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien.  I’m sorry I was so unfair to you for so long.  You deserve so much more-”

“No,” he cut her off, and she looked up in surprised.  “Really, that couldn’t be less true. You know, truthfully, we were both a little unfair to each other.  You bought into the image of Adrien Agreste. I fell in love with an idealized hero. We were both wrong.”

Marinette attempted to cross her arms over her stomach to stop the trembling in her hands.  With quite of bit of nervous energy, she took a step closer to the boy in front of her, determined not to let the past get in their way.

“Yes.  I meant all of it.”

Adrien’s anxious expression melted into a soft smile.

“Did you?”

“What?” he asked, a little confusion evident on his face.

“What you just said.  And what you said the other night when we were on the bench.  I’m still really sorry about dropping that ice cream all over you, by the way, I’m madly clumsy, and I was really nervous.”

His small smile grew into a grin, and he stepped closer as well, both of them within arm’s reach of each other now.

“Yes.  I meant everything I said.”

Marinette nodded, warmth blossoming in her chest.

“Does this mean we’re ready to take the next step?” Adrien asked.

A mischievous glint overtook Marinette’s eyes, a subtle smirk decorating her mouth.

“What step is that?” she questioned, sliding her feet just a little bit closer as she continued to watch the boy across from her.

His eyes shifted down for a second to their feet before raising up to meet hers, his own smirk beginning to grace his features.

“I think you know,” he answered, stepping just a bit closer to her as well until they were scant few centimeters apart.

Marinette feigned innocence, expression teasing.

“I think I’d like you to tell me.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes, fighting the laugh that was trying to bubble out of him.  He brought up his hand to lightly cup either side of her face and leaned a little closer.

“Marinette,” he whispered, looking now at her lips, and now at the endless sky-blue in her eyes.  “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Hmm,” she hummed, gaze flicking up and off to the side as though considering his question.  “I don’t know. I kind of like this other boy. He’s blond, too. Green eyes. Fond of black.”

Adrien’s eyes smoldered, falling to focus on her lips.

“Sounds like a cool cat.”

At the pun, Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Cha _ton_ ,” she complained, but it was cut short by the impact of his mouth covering hers.

“Are you mine, Marinette?” he breathed, pulling back just long enough to ask before diving back in, her arms coming up to wrap around his shoulders.  “Are you truly mine?” He kissed her again. “Marinette-” Another. “Please-” Another. “Put this poor cat-"  Another.  "-out of his misery.”

Her ability to kiss him back was inhibited by the smile splitting her cheeks.  Adrien found himself kissing the front of her teeth, making them both laugh.

“Kitty," she answered breathlessly, "I’ve always been yours.”


	6. Just Between Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something different about Marinette today, and Alya knows just what it is.
> 
> Day 6: Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> speed-written and unedited! I apologize if I made any glaring mistypes or mistakes! I'll go through it tomorrow to clean it up since it's kind of late and I just wanted to get it out there. Thanks again for reading! I adore every single one of you ^_^  
> <3 Muse

“Soooo,” Alya drawled, wily gleam lighting up her eye as she surveyed Marinette beside her.  “Do we have a status update for the SS Adrinette?”

Marinette frowned at her friend, confused at her mysteriously amused demeanor.  She was fidgeting in her seat, lips twitching as she appeared to suppress a smirk.  The noirette narrowed her eyes.

“No new developments,” she tried in her most nonchalant voice, but the pitch was too high.

Alya’s eyes narrowed back, nerve-inducing smile slowly stretching across her face.

“All right, keep your secrets.”  Then turning to face the front, lifting a bottle of water to her lips she added, “Not that it will stay secret for long with the evidence on full display like that.”

Marinette froze, very real concern descending upon her as she considered just what that sentence could mean.  Gradually, her anxiety-filled eyes trailed to her best friend’s face, taking notice of how the redhead’s gaze kept flitting down to her front purposefully.  Brow furrowing, Marinette looked down at her shirt, half expecting there to be some sort of post-it or message written across her front. To her dismay, the girl beside her snorted at her reaction.  Marinette, frustrated by her lack of willingness to explain, glared at Alya, who looked pointedly down again, tapping a finger to her own neck.

It took her a few seconds to catch on, but when she did, Marinette’s hand went flying up to her neck, face flaming red, and a strangled “Eep!” escaping from her lips despite her best efforts to keep in inside.

Alya was seconds away from bursting out laughing when her seat partner took off for the classroom door, surprising a certain blond as she breezed past him on his way in the room.

Adrien’s wide eyes sought Alya’s gaze.

“Is she ok?”

“She’ll be fine,” the amateur journalist replied.  “She just got a bad mark. But don’t worry. She’ll fix it.”

Adrien’s expression appeared perplexed.

“That’s strange.  She seemed pretty confident she did well on that test when I talked to her yesterday.  Maybe I can help her study next time.”

Alya suppressed a smirk.

“No offense sunshine, but this is one mark I think you’ll only make worse.”

As confused as he looked, Adrien accepted this anyway and took his seat.

A few moments later, Alya’s phone sounded with a notification.  When she looked at the screen, she saw a text from Marinette.

_SOS!  HELP IN THE RESTROOM!_

Just then, she had an idea and leaned forward to whisper: “ _Hey, sunshine!_ ”

The blond boy in front of her turned around, very much the epitome of his nickname.

“I think Marinette needs your help.  Go meet her in the girl’s bathroom.”

Despite the intense blush that overtook his cheeks, Adrien slowly rose from his chair and headed for the door.

Once he reached the restroom door, he gave a nervous glance around before knocking on the door.  In an instant, the door was pulled open and he was being yanked inside, almost harshly enough to lose his balance.

“Alya!” a familiar voice said, stopping short one the owner realized exactly who she had pulled into the _girl’s_ bathroom with her.  “Eep! Not Alya!”

If he wasn’t so overcome by surprise and embarrassment for being inside the girl’s bathroom, he would have given her a witty reply.  Alas, the very feminine person in front of him against a backdrop of pink tile and toilet stalls gave him pause.

“Adrien!  What’re you doing here?!”

Finally, his brain caught up enough to respond.

“Uhhh… Alya said you needed help with something?”  He was pretty sure his face had never felt hotter or looked redder than it did in that moment.

Clearly exasperated, Marinette covered her face with her hands, letting out a low groan at her friend’s obvious teasing.  Right in that moment, Adrien noticed the reason Marinette was hiding in the bathroom.

She had a bad mark, all right.

It was big, and it was red, but it wasn’t on a test.

It was, to both his pleasure and shame, on her neck.

“Oh, shit.  Princess. Have you seen your neck?”

His girlfriend’s face reappeared, hands falling to her sides as she gave him a deadpan expression.

“No.  Really, Adrien, I haven’t.  I’m just in here because it’s a cool place to hang out.  It doesn’t have anything to do with my half-cat boyfriend marking me for all the world to see.  Care to explain, Chaton?”

Adrien fought a smirk, knowing this was bad but having a difficult time really feeling like it was so.  Marinette watched him fight his delight, knowing her partner full well and how the cat in him would feel about so clearly marking his territory.

“Seriously, Adrien, nobody can see this- not our friends, not our teachers, and _not_ our parents!”

All the color drained from Adrien’s face, along with all the mirth from his body.  Their parents most definitely could _not_ see that.  If his father found out through rumors that his son had a girlfriend and marked her for anyone to see, he would skin him alive and take away his privileges for life.  He would be doomed to a permanent grounding, stuck inside the mansion taking lessons and living in quiet solitude until the day he died.

In the next moment, though, he was already coming up with a plan, which was fortunate, because Marinette was slowly falling into freak-out mode.

“Hey, princess, relax.  It’ll be ok. I’ve got this.  I’m a model, remember? We have to conceal blemishes all the time.  Here, give me your concealer.”

Marinette began to breathe easier, handing over her tube of light concealer and the small container of translucent powder she had been trying (and failing) to use before messaging Alya.

As he worked on covering up the mark, a smile twitched at his lips.

“What are you laughing at, Chaton?” the girl couldn’t help asking.

“Nothing,” he responded, despite the fact that the opposite was true.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at him.

“This is all your fault, you know,” she finally said.  “Yours and Plagg’s.”

Just then, the little black kwami came zooming out of Adrien’s inner shirt pocket.

“Hey!  I resent that!  I have nothing to do with you human’s disgusting mating rituals!”

“ _Plagg!_ ” Adrien cried, completely mortified.  “We didn’t… _mate._ ”

“Ugh,” the kwami responded, “close enough.  Anything and everything up to and including smushing your body parts together, you can keep me out of!”  And with that declaration, he zoomed once more out of sight.

Both Adrien and Marinette avoided eye contact, faces equally tomato-red, awkward silence hanging between them.

“So-”

“So-” they both eventually said.

“You’re almost done,” Adrien told her, swallowing and giving her a nervous smile.  She returned the gesture.

“Thank you, kitty.”  The blond’s heart warmed at the term of endearment.  Marinette’s eyes flashed. “But don’t do it again.”

The boy in front of her chuckled, closing up her make up and handing it back to her.

“What’s the matter, Bugaboo?  Can’t handle a little attention?  Don’t want the world to know you’re taken by a very territorial cat?”

Marinette gave him a dry look.

“While I’m fine with everyone knowing we’re together, I’d rather not have them wondering about the things we _do_ together, and I’d really rather not your _father_ , or mine for that matter, have to consider anything of the sort.  So, no more marks. Got it?”

Adrien’s expression transitioned into a shit-eating grin.

“Don’t worry, my lady.  It’ll be our secret. I’ll never leave a mark on you again-”

“Thank you.”

Somehow his grin grew even wider.

“-where anyone else can see.”

And to be fair, he kept his promise.


	7. We Don't Sell That Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: Sweet Tooth
> 
> Adrien stops at the bakery to satisfy a craving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette is surprised, Adrien is thirsty (or is he hungry?), and Sabine always knows.

Marinette looked up from the front counter when the bell for the bakery door lightly jingled, surprised to see her sort of secret boyfriend walking inside.

“Adrien?  What’re you doing here?  Don’t you have Chinese today?”

“As a matter of fact, I’m on my way home now, but I had a bit of a  _ sweet tooth _ , and I wanted a bite of something tasty,” the blond boy responded, finishing his remark off with a wink.  Marinette blushed to the roots of her hair, hand self-consciously going up to the concealed mark on her neck, very aware of what happened when Adrien was feeling… peckish.

Her distracted thoughts prevented her from realizing he had walked around the counter toward her until his hands were on her hips, pulling her closer to him as he leaned to whisper in her ear.

“Anything special on the menu today, Mari?”

The girl let out a shaky breath, her flush deepening as her heart skipped a beat.

“Oh!  Adrien!  I didn’t hear you come in, dear!”

As if zapped by lightning, Adrien pulled away from his place hovering by Marinette’s neck, startled and embarrassed by the sound of Madame Dupain-Cheng’s voice.  He whirled around, hands behind his back as though trying to appear innocent, face as red as cherries.

“Ma- Sabine!  I just was in the mood for something-” he swallowed “-sweet.”

Marinette’s mother’s eye twinkled, a knowing smile on her face.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but we don’t sell that kind of treat here.”  The smile she gave him was sickeningly sweet, with just a hint of teasing.

“O- of course, Madame Dupain-Cheng!  I’m sorry! I- I didn’t mean-”

“Oh, tut,” the older woman replied, cutting him off with a flippant wave of her hand.  “You and Mari should get out of here. We’re closing soon, and I don’t expect many people to come between now and then.  Go, you two kids have fun.” As she talked, she walked through the store at a calm, relaxed pace, finally arriving in front of him with a box held in her outstretched hand.  “Here, some macarons for the road. And, honey, I already told you, call me Sabine.”

Warmth filled Adrien’s chest at the caring way she looked at him until a clearing throat brought him out of his trance.  He took the bag as Sabine returned to her work, and, turning around, noticed Marinette watching him with a questioning look.

“Do you, uh, do you have to go home and work on your lessons?”

Adrien gave her a heart-stopping crooked smile.

“Marinette, I always have time for you.”

The girl in front of him smiled back.

“Come on, Chaton,” she said, taking him by the hand and leading him toward the stairs with a smirk on her face.  “Let’s take care of that sweet tooth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was suuuper short! I was too busy to write an entry yesterday, so I wrote this today, but I'm planning on writing and posting day 8's submission, too. See you in a bit!  
> <3 Muse


	8. The Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: A Favor Only You Can Do
> 
> Adrien needs a favor, and of course only Marinette can deliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We interrupt your regular programming to bring you a special installment of Adrinette April 2019.
> 
> It's short! It's kinky! It's a little dash of spicy in all this sweetness!
> 
> This chapter rated M for suggestive themes (They're a little older in this chapter- it's a look ahead)

“Hey Bugaboo?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you come here for a second?  I need a favor.”

Marinette remained in her seat at the computer desk, shuffling through some envelopes as she listened to her boyfriend call to her from their bedroom.  Every day she went through the mail in hopes of finding a letter of acceptance to one of the design programs she applied to. Preferably, she wanted to attend ESMOD, but she had a few others that she applied to as well with the expectation that she wouldn’t get in to the prestigious school.

“Umm,” she responded absent-mindedly, still rifling through the envelopes of varying sizes.  “Does it have to be me? Can you do it for yourself?”

An amused chortle came from the same direction as the voice.

“Well, I could try, but believe me when I say, Buginette, that this is a favor only you can do.”

Intrigued, Marinette set down the envelopes, disappointed, but also relieved not to have received any potential rejections.  Slowly, she made her way toward the bedroom, where the door was left open. When she arrived at the doorway, she leaned against the frame and took in the sight in front of her.

A wide, cat-like grin greeted her.

“Hey, there, princess.”

Marinette stared for a second before dissolving into giggles.

“Adrien!  What are you doing?”

“Can my princess please release her knight from his bonds?” the blond asked, a sultry fire lighting in his eyes.  “Or does she prefer him when he’s tied up?”

The noirette couldn’t help it: she burst out laughing, taking in the sight of the man before her.  Adrien was on their bed, hands bound behind his back to the headboard, his body bare of clothing except for the fake sword attached to his waist by a belt, a small, purely cosmetic shield hanging from his chest.  He gave her a sexy pout.

“I’m sorry for being caught, my lady.   _Purr_ -haps my _purr_ -incess could help me?  I _purr_ -omise to be a good boy.”

Marinette’s laugh slowly died in her throat as she continued to watch him sit there, in all his heart-stopping beauty, somehow both incredibly strong and well-muscled, and yet completely at her mercy.

Well, he knew exactly how to get her attention.

“Hmm,” she purred, sauntering closer.  “What’s this? A knight, at my mercy?”

She reached the bed, crawling up on her knees as she approached Adrien’s subdued form.  Leaning in close, she lightly brushed his ear with her nose, taking pleasure in the way his hair tickled her skin and the way his shoulders seemed to tremble.

A real purr began to stutter to life in his chest.

“Ma-” he stuttered, voice vibrating as he spoke.  “ _Ma princesse-_ ” but his sentence died there, a gasp heard as Marinette tugged on his lobe with her teeth.  “ _Princess, have mercy on your lowly knight._ ”

Marinette chuckled lowly, reaching up with both hands to push the hair back from his forehead, tilting his head back at the same time.  He looked up at her, eyes hungry and pupils dilated, mouth gaping as he submitted to her.

The smirk she gave him as she gazed down at him, eyes burning and heat pooling in her abdomen, was positively wicked.

“Aren’t you forgetting the magic word?”

She pulled his hair a little harder, causing him to breathe sharply before answering:

“ _Please_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Bonus:
> 
> "But, Chaton, how did you even manage to tie yourself to the headboard?" Marinette asked as she lay wrapped up in Adrien's arms, head raising up from it's position resting against his bare chest to look him in the face.
> 
> Adrien turned a shade of red previously unknown to man.
> 
> "I may have had... a little help."
> 
> Her gaze flitted involuntarily to the corner of the room where she knew Plagg and Tikki were resting, and back to the man holding her.
> 
> "You mean..."
> 
> Then a nasal voice carried over to them.
> 
> "I get my Camembert, and we won't speak of it ever again!"


	9. "Property Of"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9: Birthday Gifts
> 
> Marinette makes Adrien a birthday present, and actually gives it to him this time!

Marinette scrambled through the classroom door just as the bell began to ring, stopping just as suddenly as she appeared to catch her breath.

“I made it!” she said, huffing from her lack of breath and placing a hand to her chest, the other clutching a small, wrapped package.  Once she caught her bearings, she looked up, only to see Adrien watching her with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks, adorable smile plastered on his face.  Then she caught sight of some of the birthday gifts sitting on the floor by his feet.

“Hey,” she greeted, giving a small wave and blushing just barely at his attention.

“Hey, princess,” he responded, his smile growing wider, throwing in a wink for good measure and causing her blush to bloom even darker.

“Oh, that’s disgusting!” a shrill voice rang from further inside the room.

Marinette and Adrien both turned their focus in that direction, a shocked expression on the blond’s face, and an annoyed expression on the newly-arrived girl’s.  An ice-blue stare met their gazes, topped off with blonde hair accessorized by a large pair of black sunglasses.

“Chloe, we’ve talked about this.  Marinette and I are together, and you and I are just friends-” Adrien began, only to be cut off.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe said, “Oh, for goodness sake, Adrikins, stop making everything about _you_ .  I was _talking_ about that awful wrapping paper,” she said, wrinkling her nose.  “Black and green? Not only are those colors _tacky_ , but they’re copying  _Chat Noir_ , ugh!”  Then, after her dramatic display of disgust, she turned up her nose and faced the front of the room again.

“All right, everyone, that’s enough,” Miss Bustier said.  “Marinette, please take your seat.”

“Yes, madame,” the girl said, purposely walking past Adrien on her way to her seat.

She stopped for just a second when she reached his chair, setting the gift down in front of him and leaning down to whisper in his ear, “ _Happy birthday, mon chaton._ ”  Then she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and climbed the step to her spot next to Alya.

Adrien turned around o look at her, taking immense pleasure in the way she returned his gaze fondly, a soft smile playing at her lips.  Slowly and reluctantly, he faced the front of the room again, looking down at his present and the note attached. He lifted it up and spread it at the fold to read the message inside.

_Wait until lunch, so I can be with you when you open it._

_Joyeaux anniversaire, mon minou_

Adrien closed the card and slid the package to the side where he could still see it, unable to keep the grin off his face.  Lunch felt so far away.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the bell to dismiss for lunch rang, and Adrien nearly sprang out of his chair to make a beeline for the hall, only stopping at the last second because he remember that Marinette was going to go with him.  Sheepishly he turned around, bag of gifts on his shoulder, cheeks turning a bit red as he shrugged. Marinette suppressed a laugh, shaking her head just barely at his eagerness.

She walked down to the bottom level of the steps, taking his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull her out into the hall, and ignoring the catcalls and whistling that came their way.

Adrien began at a fast but controlled walk, but quickly broke into a run as the halls thinned out until they reached the locker room.  The second they were inside the room, he spun around to cover Marinette’s face with kisses.

“ _Cha- ton-_ ” the girl laughed, unable to even open her eyes from the constant fluttering of kisses being pressed to every surface of her face.

“ _Mari, my Mari_ ,” he responded, finally drawing back with to look at her for a brief moment before placing a long, firm kiss to her lips.  Marinette was just beginning to part her lips when he pulled back again, unable to help himself any longer, and spun around to stare at the black and green package in his hands.

He looked torn, and after a minute, Marinette realized what his problem was.

“Minou, you can rip the wrapping paper.  It’s ok.”

Emerald eyes pierced hers as he raised his conflicted gaze toward her.

“But, Bugaboo-  It looks so _pretty_ -”

“Oh, for goodness sake, kitty!  Just rip it!”

Adrien scowled half-heartedly at her before inspecting it, carefully undoing the tape on the package to avoid tearing the black-with-bright-green-paw-print paper.  He didn’t get far, though, before he looked up in awe.

“Bug- you painted all these paw prints _by hand_?”

Marinette blushed deeper than she had all day, nodding shyly at his gaping expression.

Then his arms were around her shoulders, and her face was in his chest as he held her close.

“ _You’re so precious, princess.  I don’t know how you do it. You’re amazing._ ”

The girl raised her arms to wrap around his middle, squeezing him back before releasing him and stepping away.

“You’re welcome, Chaton.  Now _open it_.”

Adrien grinned widely, finishing his careful unwrapping job and setting it gingerly to the side before opening the box within.

He stared for a second, slowly peeling back the tissue paper to reveal the gift inside and lifting it up.

“Mari- it’s perfect,” he said, voice suspiciously tight.

Turning it in his hand, he took in the details.

It was a slouchy beanie, black with bright green lining inside.  Close to the stitching, there were small paw prints embroidered in a dark green, deep enough to be almost impossible to see against the black.  At the center of the paw prints, it said “ _Meow-velous_.”  On the inner liner, the phrase “property of” was stitched into the fabric in black, followed by an embroidered ladybug.

“There’s something else,” she told him, watching his eyes go round with surprise.

“There’s more?  Mari, you can’t- this is _perfect_.  I don’t need anything else.”

The girl in front of him snickered, reaching into her bag to bring out something bright red.

She held it up to him to see: a slouchy beanie, just like his, but red with black spots, the inner lining black.  Turning it inside out, she revealed bright green thread that spelled “His Princess,” next to a paw print in the same shade.

Adrien pulled his girlfriend into another hug, causing her to let out a surprised laugh.

“ _Thank you, Marinette, my princess, my lady, my everything.  It’s more than I could ever have hoped for_.”

Marinette tucked her face into his shoulder, the both of them closing their eyes and breathing each other in.

“I’d do anything for you, Adrien,” she said.  “You’re my kitty.”


	10. Crumby Jokes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10: Puns
> 
> Adrien and Marinette's dad bond over punning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien is punny, Tom is amused, and Marinette wonders how she didn't notice her partner before.

_Oh my God, how did I not see it before?_ Marinette wondered to herself as she watched Adrien and her father exchange playful puns in the kitchen, both of them elbow deep in bread dough.

Oh my God, the puns.  He might as well have been wearing ears and a sign that said, "Notice me, my lady!"

Tom let out a loud, belly-deep laugh, distracting the girl from her thoughts.

“Papa!  Adrien and I were supposed to watch a movie-” she looked at the clock on her phone “-half an hour ago!”

“Oh, Marinette,” the burly man replied, “don’t be so _kneady_.”  Then he released another guffaw, Adrien joining in only somewhat less enthusiastically as Marinette narrowed her eyes at the pair.

“Aww, princess, don’t get upset,” her boyfriend told her, transitioning into a cheeky grin.  “He’s just trying to get a _rise_ out of you.”

At this, Tom lost all pretense of composure, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes as he allowed his entire body to submit to the laughter bubbling up within him and erupting like a volcano.

Marinette gave them both a deadpan expression, turning around in a huff and lifting the remote to turn on the television.  Adrien and her father continued to chortle behind her, the volume of their vociferations slowly decreasing.

“I’m glad you two are having such a good time.  Maybe I should leave you two alone.”

Adrien’s chuckles petered off at that point, his eyes raising to look at the sulking girl on the sofa.

“Aww, buginette, we’ll be done here soon.  Don’t worry. I’ll always have time for my girl.”

He gave her his most model-worthy smile, but with true sincerity behind it, and it took all of her will to fight the urge to curl up in his lap, stroke his hair, and lean her head against his chest in hopes of hearing him purr.  Fighting a smile, she gave a noise of dissatisfaction and ignored his attempt to console her, browsing through available Netflix titles to distract herself from his incredible kitten eyes.

“It’s ok Adrien,” Tom said on a slight laugh, “I have to let this dough rise for a bit.  You go have a good time with Marinette.”

“Thanks, Tom,” Adrien said, washing his hands in the sink before making his way over to the living room.

“I’m here now, bugaboo,” he said, bending at the waist to kiss the side of her forehead before lowering down to sit beside her.  Marinette turned her head stubbornly away, nose turned up in a pretense of offense.

“Aww, come one, my lady, I’m here.  I’m sorry I neglected you so long. But I really like spending time with your parents,” he admitted, turning to look down at the floor in slight embarrassment.  “I mean, it’s kind of nice to have that, you know? I don’t really get to do things like that with my dad. I’m sorry if I’m taking advantage of our relationship that way.”

Marinette felt herself melting, any fake irritation disappearing in the blink of an eye as she turned back to look fondly at her boyfriend, taking in those same kitten eyes that always turned her to mush.

“You deserve butter.”

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Marinette’s expression fell, amusement quickly gone from her face.

“Really, Chaton?”

Adrien giggled, leaning closer to kiss her cheek.

“I’m sorry, Mari.  I couldn’t resist.”

Marinette gave a begrudging half-smile, the sensation of his lips so close to her neck sending chills down her spine and causing her to shiver.

“It’s ok, kitty.”  She paused for a second as he continued placing butterfly kisses down the side of her face and neck.  A mischievous glint entered her eye. “I _loaf_ you.”

The blond boy pulled back, stunned expression on his face.  But it quickly changed into a wide grin before he dove back in, kissing her cheeks, her nose, her forehead with much more fervor than before, murmuring.

“I loaf you, Marinette.  I loaf you, I loaf you, I loaf you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again! I'm always real busy, so I'm playing catch up on the Adrinette April days. Day 11 coming soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11: FaceTime
> 
> Adrien missed his girlfriend all day, and just wants to see her before he goes to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as the chapter in which the combination of phones and hormones eventually leads to phone sex.
> 
> This chapter gets E rated in the second half. I'll mark the section so you can skip it if that's not your thing.

Adrien collapsed on his bed and painfully pulled out his phone from the pocket of his jeans.  It had been a long day of Chinese lessons, fencing practice, and photoshoots. He had been on his feet almost since he got up that morning, just now getting home well past sundown and well past dinner, another meal he had skipped in his busy day.  He was exhausted beyond description but determined to see his princess before he went to sleep for the night, so he lifted the phone and opened up Marinette’s contact, smiling breaking over his face as the sight of her photo. With his last bit of energy, he tapped the Facetime button, his own face half smushed into the pillow he was laying on, the other half looking at the screen and waiting for her to answer.

After a few rings, the video opened, Marinette’s sleepy face obscured in the dim room, her head resting on her giant cat pillow as she snuggled a pink blanket, eyes drifting closed and small smile playing at her lips.

“Adrien.  I thought you might get home too late to call.”

Hearing her voice was everything he needed.  One syllable and his whole body melted, stupid smile of contentment taking over his expression, his entire being slumping as every muscle relaxed.

“I missed you, princess.  I would have called you no matter what time I got home.”

“Mmm,” she affirmed, the sound almost sending a jolt of heat through him.  Nobody should sound that sexy when tired. “I missed you, too, kitty.”

“I hope I didn’t wake you.”

Marinette giggled a little.

“Chaton, you could have called me in the middle of the night, and I still would have answered.  But don’t worry, Minou. I wasn’t quite asleep yet. I wanted to wait for you to call first.”

Her eyes fluttered sleepily, the electric blue of her irises sending a shock through him.

“Goddamn, princess,” he sighed.  “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

Even through the phone in the darkness of the lighting, he could see his blush, her face turning down in an effort to hide herself as he smiled crookedly at her reaction.  God, she was so adorable.

Then he caught sight of her bare shoulder, and his smile fell.

“P- Princess-” he swallowed.  “What’re you wearing?”

Her blue eyes widened in surprise, quickly flitting down to inspect herself and returning back to the screen.

“Um, m- my pajamas?”

He could see it, that thin, thin strap on her creamy skin.  If he were there, he would slide it slowly down her arm, ghost his lips over the pale curve of her shoulder before pressing them lightly to her skin-

Whoa.  He needed to stop that train of thought before it got too far.

“Adrien?” he heard, suddenly noticing the concerned way Marinette was looking at him, her brow furrowed.

‘I’m ok, bugaboo.  I just- God I wish I could touch you right now.”

Marinette’s face turned bright red, and Adrien realized exactly what he said.

“No, that’s not- I mean- I just- ugh!”

He squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers and shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, Mari, I didn’t mean it like that-”

“It’s ok,” her small voice returned, and he opened his eyes again in surprise, lips parted.

“What?”

“It’s ok for you to think of me that way,” she said, clearly shy and nervous.  “I- I think of you that way, too, sometimes.”

Adrien swallowed, more turned on than ever at the idea of Marinette imagining him undressed, hands sliding over her skin, pulling at those barely-there straps, teeth grazing over her flesh-

Shit.

Below his belt, something was stirring.

“Jesus, princess,” he said, voice slightly breathless.  “You can’t just say something like that.”

“Oh,” she said.  “Why?”

For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

“Because if you start talking that way, I don’t know if I can stop myself from running over the roofs to your room and finding out just what exactly you’ve imagined me doing.”

Marinette bit her lip, and fuck if it wasn’t the hottest thing.

“You could, you know,” she said at last, and Adrien stopped breathing.

His eyes slammed shut, and he inhaled a deep, steadying breath before opening them again.

“You don’t know how much I want to do that, my lady, but I don’t think that would be very smart of either of us right now.  We’re not exactly… prepared.”

The girl’s eyes drifted down, lip still stuck between her teeth as she considered his words, and Adrien couldn’t help but wish he could tug that lip out with his own teeth and suck on it.

“I guess that’s true,” she finally assented, face thoughtful.  “But… maybe we could try something else… right now?”

For a moment, Adrien was sure he hadn’t heard her right, but he replayed her words over in his head a few times before deciding there was nothing else she could have meant.

“Princess, are you- are you saying what I think you’re saying.”

There was that lip again, that full, perfect, pink lip that he just wanted to bite-

The picture was moving, Marinette’s face covered by a hand and then revealed to be further out of frame as the phone ostensibly rested against an object, the perspective slanted.  Whereas the girl was laying on her side before, now she was on her back, her head turned to look at the camera. She looked into the camera, and Adrien felt her eyes burn into him.

“Are you going to join me, Minou?”

Suddenly all limbs and no coordination, he scrambled to set the phone up in a position where he could still be seen but his hands were free, then he ripped his shirt over his head and looked back at the camera.

“I think it’s your turn, princess.”

Marinette gave him a small smile before reaching down and grabbing the lower hem of her tank, slowly pulling it up and over her head, then tossing it out of frame.

She was perfect- all soft, firm curves and pale, bare skin bathed in the soft moonlight streaming in through the nearby window.

“Wow,” he breathed, causing her smile to grow.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Chaton.”

* * *

“Marinette, would you- would you touch yourself?” he asked, almost afraid she would yell at him for being presumptuous and hang up the phone.

Her cheeks darkened in the frame.

“I- is that what you want?”

He could only nod, sincerely worried he would shout his affirmation in his enthusiasm.

Marinette’s hand came up to slide over her chest as Adrien watched, absolutely rapt by the sight.  They circled smoothly, palms flat, over the swells of her breasts, before disappearing down her stomach and out of frame.  In the silhouette of the light, her nipples stood out, erect.

Adrien’s mouth felt dry and watery at the same time, the situation in his pants becoming a full-on crisis.

“D- do it again.”

She turned her head back toward the camera, giving him a sultry smirk before bringing her hands back up, rubbing them more firmly over her breasts again before using the tips of her fingers to tweak her nipples.  The noise she let out when she did that made Adrien shudder with want. Unconsciously, his hands began drifting lower on his own body.

“Touch yourself, princess,” he commanded, “ _everywhere._ ”

Marinette’s head fell back, her eyes closing as a pleased smile gave way to parted lips, her hands once again disappearing from sight.  Then she let out a gasp, her back arching slightly, and Adrien could resist no longer.

With one hand, he grabbed his erection, slowly running his hand up and down his shaft, sensually massaging his balls occasionally, and teasing the head as he watched various expressions of pleasure cross over Marinette’s face.

Her breathy little gasps drew him on, made him pump faster as his hard breathing transitioned into groans.

“Oh, God, princess, I want to touch you so bad, please, keep going.”

“Ah!” she cried, her back arching even more as her chest jutted upward.  Adrien longed to take a rosy peak in his mouth, to run his lips and tongue over her whole body, taste her, touch her, bury himself deep inside her as she moaned and screamed his name.

His hand moved faster, almost unable to keep his eyes open from the sensation, but unwilling to give up the sight of his girlfriend’s gorgeous body.  With every little sound she made, he imagined she was moaning them in his ear. He could almost feel her heat, her wet tightness all around him, the temperature and sweat of her body flush against his own.  His hand moved faster, Marinette’s gasps reaching higher and higher pitches, getting more and more urgent and demanding.

“Fuck, princess, _please_ , I want you to come for me.”

He could see her hips rolling, her fingers at work somewhere where he couldn’t view them.

“ _Ah, Adrien!_ ”  

Then, it was the most angelic sound he ever heard as she cried out, breath coming hard, gradually slowing down.  

“ _Ah, Marinette!_ ”

A few more frantic pumps, and he began to empty himself into his discarded shirt.

The two of them lay there for a moment, both trying to catch their breath as they came down from their high.  Serene smiles in place, they began chuckling lightly together, neither really able to believe what just happened.

“Wow.  Princess, that was amazing.”

“Mm, you were something, too, Minou.”

* * *

Adrien let out a breathy laugh, exhaustion hitting him again full force as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

“I wish I could hold you right now,” he said.

“Me too, Adrien.  Maybe next time, you will.”

His heart rate, already speeding, increased even more at this, his eyes popping open as he looked at the beautiful girl on his screen.  She smiled back.

“Next time, we’ll be prepared.”

Adrien’s shocked gape turned into a grin.

“Now it’s time to go to sleep, Chaton.  You need to rest.”

“Ok, princess.  But- will you stay on?  So we can fall asleep together?”

Marinette’s eyes drifted shut, her face relaxing.

“Of course, kitty.  I love you.”

Adrien’s eyes began to close, unable to fight the weight of exhaustion any longer.

“I love you, too, Marinette.”


	12. Just In Case You Didn't Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12: "Adrien's Girlfriend"
> 
> News breaks that Adrien has a girlfriend, and Marinette is a little uncomfortable with all the attention.

The sun streamed through the window, an alarm blaring, but Marinette only muttered nonsensical noises and turn back over.

“Marinette!  You have to get up, or you’re going to be late!” Tikki warned her.

The raven-haired girl frowned in her sleep-drunk state, lips pursing in distaste at having to wake up before she was ready.

“Marinette, come on!”

Grumbling she brought one arm up beside her head, eyes still stubbornly closed.  The other rose up as well, both of them coming to rest perpendicular to the bed, palms flat on the mattress.  With a displeased grunt, she pushed herself up and blinked blearily around, unhappy about the brightness offending her tired eyes.

She could hear Tikki pushing her to get out of the bed, so she slowly crawled toward the ladder, stopping to lift up her beeping phone and silence the alarm.

The time on the screen made her screech in surprise.

“ _Eeep!_  I’m going to be late!”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Marinette,” her kwami scolded her, nubby limbs bent and resting against her sides.

With surprising speed, the panicked girl dressed and ran out the door, half-eaten croissant in hand.  But when she reached the bottom of the front steps, a passing pair of girls stopped her. 

“Oh my God!  Are you Adrien’s girlfriend?!”

The noirette stared at the two girls in front of her, strangers she had never seen or met before.  With wary eyes, she reluctantly nodded her head and watched, at a total loss, as they both made some inhuman noises at her response.  Then she heard the bell ring, and ran quickly for the stairs.

When she reached the hallways, though, she noticed a lot of people she didn’t know were staring at her, pointing and whispering.  Her brow furrowed as she made her way to her locker as fast as she could. She could hear more whispering in the locker room, and when a hand touched her shoulder, she whirled around in defensive alarm, heart hammering.

“Whoa!  Marinette!  It’s ok- it’s me.”

A very familiar pair of green eyes, crowned with golden hair, greeted her, grabbing her wrist and leaning forward to kiss her briefly on the lips.  There were strange individuals peering blatantly into the locker room from the hall, some of them loitering with apparently no excuse to even be there.  Uncomfortable, she looked around, noticing that very few averted their eyes when she met their gazes. Most continued to stare. Adrien pulled her closer, arm draped protectively around her shoulders as he pressed a kiss to the side of her haid.

“Come on, princes,” he murmured into her hair, leading her out of the room.

Marinette reached up a hand to grasp the one he had resting on her shoulder, trying her best to avoid the prying looks of so many strangers.  In the whispers, she caught: “ _That’s Adrien’s girlfriend_.”

When they reached the classroom, Alya was waiting, expression sympathetic.

“Are you ok?” she asked.  “Has anyone been bothering you?”

Marinette looked around, eyes wide.

“I don’t get it.  What’s happening?”

Adrien stepped forward to face her, stroking her hair in comfort and kissing her lightly on the forehead.

“I guess word got out that we’re together.  I mean, we haven’t been hiding it, but I guess it wasn’t really all that obvious, until someone took a picture of us in public and posted it online.  Then someone from this school recognized you, and now everyone knows who you are.”

The girl frowned, not necessarily concerned that the news had got out, but still uncomfortable having so much attention thrown on her, especially because she was coming to be known more as “Adrien’s Girlfriend,” and less as her own person.

“You mean they know who Adrien’s girlfriend is,” she returned, not real heat behind her voice, but frustration evident all the same.

“Hey.  You know that we all know who you are.  Don’t let any of that ridiculous media bullshit get to you.  I’m proud of who you are, and I can’t wait for the world to see just how amazing Marinette Dupain-Cheng is.”

A genuine smile spread across her face, and she threw her arms around her boyfriend’s shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug as she buried her face in his chest.  She felt the soft pressure of a kiss on the crown of her head.

“You’re everything to me, Mari.”

“I love you, too, Adrien.  I’m glad everyone else will know that now, too.”

The blond pulled back, smiling, and squeezed her hand before giving her one last kiss and releasing her to take her seat.

Marinette tried her best to pay attention for the rest of the day, she really did, and she tried not to let the whole ridiculous nature of the situation get to her.  After all, Adrien was the famous one, so it only made sense that she would be seen according to her relationship to him. And she was fine with that. But the whispers and the stares in the halls and at lunch were sometimes unnerving.  By the end of the day, she couldn’t wait until the whole thing blew over.

That night, she was alone in her room doing her homework when she heard a distinct thud on the roof.  There was only one person who it could be, but she was surprised nonetheless, not having been expecting a visit that night.

Before she could even rise out of her chair to open the skylight, it was pulled up and a black-clad cat-boy descended down her ladder, transforming in a flash of green into her boyfriend.

The shit-eating grin on his face made her slightly suspicious.

“Kitty, what’s going on?  I wasn’t expecting you tonight.”

“I know, princess,” he said, kissing her quickly on the lips, “but I have something for you, and I;m really excited about it.”

Without further ado, he opened up a small bag he had been holding in his hand, pulling out the contents and holding them up for her to see.  Marinette let out a disbelieving laugh, walking forward to inspect the object, fingering it lightly and turning it over to examine it.

“Do you like it?” he asked, impatient for her response.

She laughed airily again.

“Chaton, what is this?  You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know,” he replied, grin still plastered widely over his face, “but I wanted to.  Now all the world will know who I am, too.”

Marinette shook her head at she looked into his shining emerald eyes, throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly as she laughed into his shoulder.

“Oh, Minou.  I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

She could feel him smile into her neck.

“All you had to do was be my girlfriend.”

Pulling back with a disbelieving laugh, she slapped his arm playfully, and he dissolved into a fit of giggles.

The next morning, Adrien and Marinette walked into school hand in hand, drawing looks from everyone as they passed by.

“Oh my God!” Alya exclaimed when they reached the room.  “I have to get a picture of this!”

Then she pulled out her phone and aimed it at the two of them, who stood just inside the doorway with hands clasped, looking at each other with loving smiles on their faces.

They wore matching shirts- Marinette’s a light pink, with white letters that said “Marinette,” and Adrien’s a plain black with bright green letters that said, “Marinette’s Boyfriend.”

And as they looked at each other, Adrien couldn’t help but say, “Just in case anyone ever doubted it, I’m yours.”

Marinette returned his look, leaning closer to kiss him before pulling back and saying, “I’m yours, too, Adrien.  And I always will be.”


	13. Raining Black Cats and Lucky Bugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13: Good Luck
> 
> Marinette is having the worst day, but maybe she's not so unlucky after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I got way behind, but I'm working on catching up! It was a busy weekend with home and work and school, so thanks for being patient! I'll try to get up to date with them as soon as I can :)

“Are you kidding me?!  I’m supposed to be the symbol of good luck!  What the hell is going on?!”

Marinette raised her fists to the sky, cursing the clouds as they suddenly broke, drenching her in her pointless trench coat, her broken umbrella resting at her side, her bag of groceries ruined, the paper torn through, and her shoes squishing their soggy loads with every step she took.

It seemed like everything was going wrong today- first when Adrien had a sudden photoshoot to attend, making their lunch plans irrelevant, then when she was already out in the middle of the day, staring up at the threatening sky above her, eventually succumbing to her concern and buying a cheap, tacky umbrella in case it started to rain, which it did, in hopes it would keep her dry, which it didn’t- because  _of course_ she forgot the umbrella she still had from Adrien.

Since Adrien was busy, she decided to run her errands, only to have forgotten her canvas market bags, having to use the vendor’s paper bags instead, which quickly dissolved into nothing once the rain began.  All of her groceries fell to her soaked feet- her favorite pair of flats, now probably ruined in the dirty water of the streets.

At least Adrien was probably safe and dry somewhere.  She lamented now having brought her bike instead of taking the subway, since it would likely rust if she didn’t clean it properly when she arrived home.

But more than anything, she felt worry for Tikki, who must be miserable inside her purse, which was also soaking through and likely to need a special washing by hand.

She had left the house that morning with such high hopes, deciding to take a ride about the city to pass the time.  The weather then had really seemed promising, what with mostly sunny skies, very few white, fluffy clouds, and pleasantly cool but not cold temperatures.

Seeing now reason to hurry, Marinette salvaged what she could of her groceries, grabbed her bike by one of the handles, and walked relatively calmly toward the nearest metro station.  She was just around the corner from a station when a blurry black figure dropped in front of her, pulling her hastily into his arms.

“Oh, thank God, princess, I was so worried.”

“Ad- Chat Noir?” the girl asked, looking around her worriedly lest anyone take special notice of them.  Fortunately, not a terrible amount of people happened to be on this small street, especially not with the current downpour happening all around them.

“Ah, sorry, princess,” the blond boy said, swallowing and copying her examination of their surroundings.  “I didn’t mean to accost you in public, it’s just, I was so relieved to see that you were ok.” Then he leaned into her ear so no one could hear them.  “We need to talk. Meet me by the train?”

Marinette gave an indiscernible nod and turned before he vaulted to the top of the building.  The few individuals around watched in awe as one of Paris’ heroes disappeared, then back to the ordinary girl he had been paying what appeared to be special attention to.

Marinette blushed, ducking her head and hurrying toward the station.  She hadn’t been standing there long when a blond came down the steps, almost running in her direction.  Once again, he drew her into a hug, nuzzling his face into her wet hair, droplets of water dripping from his own locks.

“Adrien,” she said as he seemed to hold on for dear life, “what’s going on.”

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere, princess.  I was so worried.”

“Worried?  About what?”  Marinette drew back with a puzzled expression, but Adrien seemed hesitant to let her go, holding onto the sides of her face and stroking her hair, careless of the people who were beginning to gather and stare at the famous model and his girlfriend.

The train stopped beside them, and Marinette pulled him beside her onto the car, her bike joining them along with her pathetic collection of soggy groceries.  There weren’t many places to hide, so to cover their heads from view, she opened the umbrella that had broken almost as soon as she tried to use it to protect herself from the rain. Pieces of wire struck out, the fabric detached in some places and folded back in others.  It wouldn’t stay open without her hand up at the top to hold it in place, but it would do.

“Adrien, what gives?”

“Nothing- it’s probably incredibly stupid, but that restaurant we were supposed to go to for lunch today- there was some sort of accident, and I think there was a fire, and there were some injuries, and I was so scared that you had ended up going on your own-” he rambled, barely taking a breath “-but then I called your parents, and they said they thought you went shopping, and then it started raining, and I just had this awful idea that you would end up hurt somewhere, or I don’t know, struck by a car on your bicycle, and I just couldn’t breathe until I saw you and I knew that you were ok-”

Marinette cut him off by pressing her lips to his, the kiss wet from the water still sliding down their faces.  When she pulled back, Adrien smiled softly, the fear and tension visibly draining out of his body as his shoulders relaxed and he leaned forward to rest his head against hers.

“I guess it’s lucky I found you when I did,” he said, “I was about to go insane with worry.  I heard sirens at least three different times while I was running around looking for you, and every time I was convinced you were in the back of an ambulance.”

“Oh, Kitty,” she soothed, raising a hand to caress his cheek and kissing him again, this time a bit longer than the quick one from before.  Then she drew back, smiling fondly. “Every time you find me, it’s lucky.”


	14. Those Two Were Made For Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14: The Valentine
> 
> Adrien is suddenly reminded of something from years ago.

Marinette changed into a clean, dry set of clothes while they waited for Adrien’s chauffeur to arrive.  The sun was finally coming out of the clouds, leaving a hazy warm glow to the city streets. As she walked into the living room, she could see Adrien in the light streaming in through the windows, both hands using a towel to dry his hair as much as possible.  He stood dressed in loose pants and a comfortable long sleeve shirt she had made for him before, his wet clothes in a plastic bag somewhere in the kitchen.

Just as she wrapped her arms around him to hug him from behind, his bodyguard pulled up in front of the building.

“Hey,” Adrien said, pivoting to drape and arm around her shoulders and kissing her on the head.  “Gorilla is here. We should head out.”

She nodded against him, her head resting on his chest, and he reached down to grab her hand, pulling her toward the door.  They reached the lower level, exiting through the bakery and waving goodbye to Marinette’s parents, the bag of wet clothes hooked on one finger and slung on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Tom and Sabine, I’ll have her back at a decent time.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that!” Sabine reassured him, giving him a warm smile, which he returned.

Marinette descended onto the car, followed by Adrien.  The blond leaned back on the seat, the whirlwind of the day finally catching up with him.

“You ok?” the girl beside him asked.

“Mm,” he responded, letting his head slide to the side to lean on her shoulder.  “It’s just been a long day. That photoshoot was something else, and then the weather and searching the city for you-”  He blushed, somewhat embarrassed by his overreaction to events.

The noirette’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What was your shoot for today?” she asked.

Adrien gave a long sigh.

“It was a Valentine theme.  A perfume ad. I hate those.  They always want to sell some weird, contrived version of love.  It’s a job, but it can be really uncomfortable sometimes, especially with the way they usually have the models dress- today I was in an open dress shirt, and it’s not exactly warm outside.”

Marinette giggled a little, giving him a sympathetic pat on the leg.

“If it makes you feel any better, you don’t have to do anything like that for me on Valentine’s Day.  I mean, I know it’s months away, but you know I don’t need anything contrived or over-the-top, right?”

Adrien smiled at her, his head leaning back against the seat and turned to the side to look at her.

“Isn’t it a little early to ask me to be your Valentine, Bugaboo?”

She gave him a deadpan look, then startled as his face morphed into a suddenly surprised expression.

“Oh my God!  Marinette! The Valentine!”

Marinette’s face transformed into confusion.

“It was you!” he exclaimed gleefully.

“What?”

“The Valentine!  ‘Your hair shines like the sun. You eyes are gorgeous green-”

The girl’s face began to color scarlet.

“‘-I look at you and wonder your innermost thoughts and dreams-”

“Yes!” she said, hastily putting a hand over his mouth.  “I don’t need it recited back to me, I wrote it!”

Adrien began laughing against her palm, too giddy for words.

“I thought it was Ladybug, then I thought it was Marinette, then I thought I was just wrong about both, and now I can’t believe I was right the whole time!”

“But- wait- you _memorized it_?” the astonished girl asked.

This time, it was Adrien’s face that was turning red.

“Well, I mean, I may have read it over a few times- but one way or another, I knew whoever gave me that Valentine was really special, was going to be something to me someday.  And I was right,” he said, bringing up a hand to softly cup her chin and brushing his thumb softly over her jaw. “You are. So, even if it is a little early: Marinette, will you be my Valentine?  For always?”

Marinette considered teasing him for a moment but decided it wasn’t worth it.

“Yes,” she answered.  “‘Your Valentine I will be, our love will be so true.  Together for eternity, my heart belongs to you.’”


	15. To All The Boys I Haven’t Loved Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15: Love Rivals
> 
> Adrien wonders who came close to stealing his lady's heart.

The chauffeur pulled up to Agreste Manor, Gorilla opening the door and reaching out to help Marinette out of the car as Adrien followed behind.  The giant structure was imposing for sure, with its bright white walls, the cold decorative interior, and the vast emptiness of its spaces. Marinette squeezed Adrien’s hand tight in her own as they walked, detecting the slight increase in tension in his body.

“Shouldn’t I be the nervous one?” she asked quietly, trying to lighten the mood.  “I mean, I know your dad knows we’re dating, but I haven’t officially met him as your girlfriend yet, and I’m convinced every time I’m here that he’s going to show up suddenly around the corner and ask me for my credentials.”

Adrien let out a breathy laugh, unable to suppress it.  Must to Marinette’s delight, his shoulders relaxed somewhat before he squeezed back.

“Don’t worry, bug, when you do officially meet father, he’s going to see everything amazing that I see in you.”  But then his smile fell a little. “When he finally has enough time to spare, that is.”

The girl at his side raised a hand in comfort to his shoulder, then spoke no more as they entered the front doors of the mansion and made their way to his room.  Adrien closed the door behind them, following Marinette as she made her way over to his couch and sunk down, her head leaning against an arm, her legs stretched out across the cushions.  She patted her leg in command. Without an argument, Adrien lay down, half on her and half on the couch, his arms wrapping around her middle and his head resting against her chest. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair.

“Have-” he began, voice nervous, but stopped.

Marinette frowned slightly, trying to look down at his face, but it was concealed somewhere under her chin.

“What?”

Adrien hesitated.

“Have I ever had any rivals before?”

The girl’s brows furrowed even more.

“Rivals?” she asked, her voice completely belying her confusion.

“Yea.  You know, like love rivals- rivals for your affection.  I mean, we’re together now, and I couldn’t be happier, but was there ever a time when… you maybe… wanted to be with someone else?”

Marinette’s breath caught in her throat.

“ _Oh, you silly cat_ ,” she whispered, tugging on his chin to force him to look up at her.  In his eyes, she could see the insecurity. “Why on Earth would you be thinking that?”

Adrien dejectedly lowered his eyes again, rising to a sitting position as Marinette followed.

“I don’t know, Mari.  You’re the best person I’ve ever known.  Plenty of guys in our class have liked you before- even ones that weren’t in our class.  I just- I don’t know. I was so oblivious for so long, I wouldn’t blame you if you moved on.  You and Luka seemed to have a really good connection. What’s so special about me?” Then his voice dropped lower.  “My own father doesn’t want to spend time around me- why would you?”

“You stupid cat!”  Adrien looked up in surprise.  “You’ve never had a rival before because in order for anyone to be your rival, they would have to be equal to you, and if we’re being honest, maybe there were times when someone caught my attention, but it was never enough to draw me away from you.  Adrien- you have no equal in my eyes. No one compares to you because no one _is you._ ”  Marinette paused, taking in his astonished expression before laughing lightly.  “You know, I guess you could say your only love rival was you. Chat did a pretty good job of worming his way into my heart, despite my best efforts to keep him out.  But, what else would you expect, all things considered. My heart was loyal to you- there was no way I could keep you out of it, even when I didn’t know it was you.”

“You’ve always had my heart, too, Marinette- as Ladybug, as yourself- no one else could ever take your place.  I’m sorry I’m so stupid sometimes.”

The girl beside him rested her forehead against his, a small smile playing at her lips.

“You’re forgiven,” she said.  “It’s a good thing you’re pretty, though.  No wonder I’m the brains in this relationship.”

Adrien pulled back, the inner cat in him coming out to scowl at her- an expression which quickly morphed into a smirk as she visibly held back a giggle.

“You know, my lady,” he said, reaching out and carefully grabbing her wrists as he leaned closer.  His lips hovered dangerously close to her neck. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was an invitation.”

Marinette snorted, but tensed up, very aware of the position of his mouth.

“An invitation to what?” she breathed.

“To do this,” he said, lightly nipping her neck and causing her to gasp from the sensation.

Her fingers twisted into his hair as he pressed open-mouthed kisses to her skin, working his way up to her lips.  By the time he reached them, she was more than willing to return his actions.

One kiss turned into two, turned into three, turned into ten.  Whereas they were both sitting when they began, before long they found themselves horizontal on the couch, tongues and teeth and lips and hands battling against each other.  Marinette could feel a moan rising in her throat as she remembered their Facetime call just several nights before. She had been imagining something like this, this heated struggle to consume each other whole.

All it took was a firm rolling of Adrien’s hips, and Marinette cried out.  Immediately, he pulled back, worried expression on his face.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

Marinette chuckled, but it was more air than noise.

“No,” she said, out of breath.  “Not at all.” Then she swallowed nervously.  “I don’t want you to stop.”

The responding smirk on his gorgeous face was enough to send the rest of the blood in her body rushing to her core, and she almost inadvertently undulated into the air, barely stopping herself from completely the desperate gesture.

“Good,” he said, pulling her up by the arms and wrapping her legs around his waist.  Marinette was ready to continue, but was caught off guard when he stood with her attached to him like a monkey, then walked over to the bed before dropping her on the mattress.  Grabbing both of her wrists again, he gather them in one hand, raising them above her head. With the other hand, he reached into his rear pant pocket, pulling out his wallet and extracting something square and shiny from its billfold that sent a shiver of anticipation through her.  “Because unlike last time, I’m prepared, and if this is what you want, then I’m not nearly done with you yet.”


	16. The Hypothetical Catbug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16: Beach
> 
> Alya wakes up Marinette with a drunken call, and suddenly the girl realizes exactly where she is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Alya isn't that quick when intoxicated, and Marinette and Adrien aren't as subtle as they think.

“ _Mariii_ ,” a drunken female voice slurred into the girl’s ear, “I wanna go skinny dipping!  Let’s go to the beaach!” Marinette pulled the phone away from her ear, surprised at the volume of the offending voice, and blinked at the brightness of the screen.

It took her a minute to gain her bearings, but after a few moments, she realized that she was in Adrien’s room.  It was dark outside, and she was laying in Adrien’s bed, and arm wrapped around her…

... _bare_ middle.

The raven-haired girl let out a quiet shriek, dropping the phone onto the pillow she was laying on and jolting upward.

“ _Marinette?_ ” she could hear from the earpiece of the phone.  Bleary eyes blinked again, trying to clear up her vision, and she caught Alya’s name on the screen.

Slowly, she raised the phone to her ear, doing her best to wake up her brain, which was difficult to do when she was overwhelmed by the sensation of a tightening grip on her waist.

“A- Alya,” she said groggily into the phone, “it’s late.  And the beach is, like, two hours away. And… it’s not even warm enough outside right now.”

“Marinette?  Why do you sound like that?  Did I wake you up?”

“Uhhh, yea.  I was… watching a movie and dozed off.”

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end as Marinette imagined her friend using her sixth sense to detect the girl’s lies, but all her fears were laid to rest before long.

“Ok!  Sorry, girl!  I’ll see you at school tomorrow!”

“But tomorrow’s-”

The call ended before she could finish her sentence.

“-Sunday.”

The noirette looked at her screen in amused perplexion, setting the phone down on the bed again and briefly closing her eyes before they blew wide open again.  Because in that moment, she was suddenly awake enough to process the situation.

As she took stock of her surroundings, she noticed several things: she was not wearing any clothes.  There was a person holding onto her as they lay together in bed. If the texture against her back was to be trusted, that person was naked, too… and male.  She could smell a very well-known cologne, and the unmistakable expanse of Adrien’s room towered above her. His enormous windows streamed in the city lights, and she found herself replaying vivid memories of their activities just a few hours earlier.  The tension in her body began to melt away, and she was left simply with the feeling of being completely comfortable, completely at peace wrapped up in the embrace of the person she loved most.

“Mmm,” a deep voice sighed behind her, pulling her even closer, as though that were possible.  “ _My_ princess.”

Marinette suppressed a chortle, shaking her head as best she could against the pillow at her partner’s possessive tendencies.

“What time is it?” Adrien asked in a gravelly voice.  Marinette shivered at the sound, reaching for her phone to check the clock again.

“It’s after midnight,” she answered contentedly.  But within a few seconds, both of their brains registered what that meant.

“Shit!” she cried, sitting up like a bolt of lightning as Adrien did something similar just fractions of a second after her.  “I was supposed to be home already!”

“Relax, Marinette,” her boyfriend said in an attempt to calm her, but his voice was slightly concerned, too.  “You’re not a child, and your parents said it was fine if you stayed out late.”

Marinette was scrambling around the bed, looking for her clothes, when she suddenly grabbed her phone instead.  Working to calm her racing heart and steady her breathing, she dialed her mother and listened to it ring.

“Marinette?”

“Maman!  I’m sorry it’s so late and I haven’t called or come home yet.  We were watching a movie and fell asleep on the couch. I can be home really soon.”

The sound of Sabine’s laugh echoed across the speaker.

“Oh, dear, don’t worry about it.  We know how easily distracted you are, Marinette.  You’re almost a grown woman, and you can decide when is appropriate for you to be home.  We trust your judgment.”

The girl’s shoulders slumped in relief.

“Oh, thank you, maman.  I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry about it, honey.  It’s pretty late. At this point, it would make more sense if you stayed until morning.”

Marinette’s eyes bulged, wondering if her mother knew exactly what she was giving her permission for.

“Next time, just send us a message instead of waking us up with a call.”

“Right, maman,” she replied, blushing slightly at her lack of consideration.  “I’ll try to be more thoughtful in the future.”

“All right, dear.  Good night. We love you.”

“Love you, too, maman.

“Oh, and Marinette?”

“Yes, maman?”

“Do be careful.  I know your father was joking, but we really aren’t ready to be grandparents yet.”

Heat radiated off the girl’s skin as she flushed from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.

“Uh r- right, maman.”  She cleared her throat awkwardly.  “I will.”

“Good night.”

Marinette stared down at the phone in her hand, then slowly turned to face the blushing man beside her.

“Did your mom just say what I think she just said?”

Unable to speak, she simply nodded.

“Oh my God,” Adrien groaned, closing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair.  “Your dad is going to kill me.”

The image of her teddy bear of a father trying to harm someone was so comical to her, that it made Marinette laugh.  Adrien scowled.

“What’s so funny?  Marinette, I very much like my legs, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to have them for much longer.”

Her laughter slowed down enough for her to say: “Adrien, my dad would never hurt you.  He’s too much of a softie for that.”

“But that time with Weredad- Bugaboo, he wanted to kill me.  I- I mean, he was mad enough at me to get akumatized.” Then the male’s eyes widened dramatically.  “Holy shit, Mari, what if your dad gets akumatized because of this?!” And involuntarily, his eyes drifted for a brief second down to his groin, his hands coming together to protectively cradle the region.  “What about our future catbugs?”

At his dramatic reaction, Marinette shook her head again.

“Adrien, that was because he thought Chat Noir _hurt me._ ”  A gentle hand raised up to cradle his cheek, and his shoulders relaxed.  “As long as you don’t hurt me, Adrien, I think everything is going to be fine.”

The blond nodded, most, though not all, of his fears abating.

“Besides,” she continued, mouth quirking, “catbugs?”

Adrien gaze her a sheepish half-smile.

“Well, yea.  Hopefully more bug than cat.”

As he watched the girl across from him, a spark seemed to light in her eye, and she was suddenly in his lap, the blankets between and around them pulled out of the way.  Adrien’s pupils blew wide, his hands coming up unconsciously to grip both of her hips as she looked down at him with a sultry smirk.

“Well, I’m not ready for that _now_ , Chaton, but I don’t see why we can’t get plenty of practice in.”

Adrien’s shocked expression quickly shifted into a cocky smoulder.

“I think that can be arranged, princess.”


	17. All I Want For Breakfast Is You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 17: Confession
> 
> Everyone is full of confessions today.

For the second time in less than 12 hours, the ring of her phone woke Marinette up.

Too asleep to open her eyes, the raven-haired girl fumbled blindly around on the space beside her, searching for her phone with only the aid of touch.  It continued to ring, and Marinette continued to feel about until something rectangular, heavy, and familiar met her fingers. Barely opening her eyes enough to view the screen, she slid her thumb from left to right to answer and pressed the device to her ear, closing her eyes once again.

“Mmm,” was her less-than-articulate answer.

“Marinette,” her best friend’s voice greeted, must lower and less lively than it was the night before, “I have a confession.  I may have had a little too much to drink last night. I’m just around the corner. I’ll be there in a minute for some flaky, baked hangover cure.”

Still refusing to open her eyes and kickstart her brain to becoming fully functional, the half-asleep noirette’s brow furrowed nonetheless.

“You’re coming to Adrien's?”

“What?  Girl, are you half asleep?  Why would I be coming to Ad-”  There was a long pause as Marinette’s brain finally reached minimum cognitive function and realized what she just said, but it was seconds too late.  “ _OH MY GOD! Marinette, are you at Adrien’s?!”_

The supposedly lucky girl cursed under her breath, half from her stupid habit of incoherently babbling secret information, and half from the sheer volume of Alya’s outburst.

What hangover?

Pinching her nose with her thumb and forefinger with her free hand, Marinette shifted onto her back, inhaling and exhaling to buy time while she tried to think of a way to put off this undoubtedly nightmare of a conversation for later.

“Uh… well…”

“Oh. My. _GOD!_  Marinette, I know I’m still kind of drunk from last night, but _I am so proud of you girl!_  Don’t let me keep you- go get you some!”  And with that, the enthusiastic redhead hung up, leaving her best friend in slight dread of their next encounter.

She set the phone on the nightstand, rolling over and realizing that the space on the bed next to her was empty.  She frowned again, wondering what Adrien could be doing up at this time when they had been up quite late the night before.

Just the thought of it made her blush, and she sat up in the bed, positioning herself against the headboard as she clumsily covered herself with the sheets.  As she was doing so, the bedroom door slowly opened, revealing the very blond she had just been thinking about. The sight of him made her smile and blush some more, an expression which he reciprocated.

“M- morning, Mari,” he managed as he closed the door behind him.  Marinette looked him up and down slowly. With only a comfortable pair of pants, no shirt, and full bedhead, he was too sexy for words.

“M- m- morning, Adrien,” she returned, self-consciously pulling the blankets higher.

Adrien approached the bed, crawling onto it on his knees and leaning forward to kiss his girlfriend’s forehead.

“You sleep ok?”

Warmth flooded her cheeks anew as Marinette nodded, unsure how to navigate this unfamiliar situation, this new level in their relationship.

“That’s good, because I… have a confession.”

Her heart rate picked up, sincere concern blooming in her chest as she wondered what those ill-boding words could mean.

“I- I told Nathalie you were here-”

Marinette’s jaw dropped.

“-but- but not like that!  I just told her that you fell asleep and decided to stay the night.  I knew there wasn’t really a way we could get you out of here without her finding out, especially with all the cameras, and I just knew if I didn’t say something, she would definitely tell my father.”

At this last sentence, the girl before him paled.

“Oh my God… your father.  He’s going to throw me out, isn’t he?” she asked, panic rising within her.  “Adrien, you’re not wearing a shirt- he’s going to think I’m a slut!”

Adrien leaned forward suddenly, pressing his lips comfortingly to her forehead and leaving them there, his chest just barely shaking with a suppressed chuckle.

“Absolutely not, princess.  He would never think that about you.  We’ll keep this between us for now.”

Marinette nodded, somewhat calmer, as he pulled away.

“Now, then, I told Nathalie you were here, and she suggested you come downstairs to breakfast.  She’s not telling my father anything about this for now, and chances of him coming down to eat with us are nonexistent, but the choice is still up to you.”

Marinette peered up at the face hovering so close in front of her, a warm hand coming to grip hers as she looked into his bright green eyes.  Without warning, she closed the rest of the distance between them and pressed her lips to his, drawing back just a second or two later.

“Ok, Adrien,” she said with a smile.  “I’d love to join you for breakfast.”

The man in front of her grinned, pulling back as he said, “Great!  I'll let the chef know-” only to be pulled back by the unexpected strength of Marinette’s unrelenting grip.

“Since we’re confessing things, Adrien, there’s something you should know.”

Adrien looked at her, surprised and expectant.  Marinette motioned for him to come closer, so he leaned in until her mouth was next to his ear.

“This morning,” she murmured lowly, “I’m craving…”

The rest of her voiced dropped off almost too low to hear, but he caught every word.  Turning brighter and brighter red as she continued, eventually he drew back, painfully flustered, with a growing problem in his nether regions.

Adrien cleared his throat, though his voice still came out high-pitched and thin as he said, “Right.  I’ll see what I can do.”

And when he turned to walk on shaky legs to the door, he yelped as he felt a hand smack his backside, jumping slightly at the startling (but still oddly arousing) sensation.


	18. Rain On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 18: In the Rain
> 
> Marinette realizes something about the rain.

It wasn’t everyday Marinette thought about the rain as a good thing.

Sure, it made the flowers grow, and it kept the earth in a beautiful cycle of renewal.  It gave life. But it seemed like rain was always, for lack of a better analogy, raining on her parade.

Some of her most catastrophic and embarrassing moments were in the rain, so she was never really that fond of it.

Now, though, standing here outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery in the freshly begun downpour, staring at the green eyes looking back at her, she started realize that _all_ her best moments were also in the rain.  It had been on her mind the whole way home from Adrien’s as she sat there next to him, watching it slide down the windows like some sort of cleansing, purifying lucky charm.

Thunder struck somewhere in the grey sky, and Marinette was taken back to a time just a few years before when she had stood in almost this exact position, from the blond man across from her watching her expectantly, to the black umbrella in his outstretched hand.  Swallowing she thought over his words again, trying to process the moment.

“Marinette?” he asked, drawing her out of her own head.  “I’m sorry if I freaked you out, it’s just, I know there’s never going to be anyone else for me.  I didn’t mean now, or even tomorrow, but… someday. Is it too much?”

Her brain screamed at her to say something, the loud but somehow soft sound of the rain falling all around them echoing in her head as she stood there, mouth agape, mind in total meltdown.  The longer she stood there, the redder Adrien’s face became until he was ducking his head, beginning to turn away with a look of hurt.

“I’m sorry, Marin-”

“No!” she suddenly shouted, stopping him mid-apology and mid-turn.  “I mean, yes! I mean…” She stayed frozen there, unable to form enough of a coherent thought much less stream a sensible string of words together.  Finally, she managed: “The rain!”

Green eyes watched her, wide and confused.

“It’s the rain!  It’s always in the rain.  Everything, all the best things that have happened to me, have been with you, and in the rain.”

Adrien cocked his head to the side, expression vacant but open, eyes softening.  Self consciously, Marinette turned her head to the side.

“Did you know I fell in love with you in the rain?” she asked, almost to the drops of water on the ground.  Inhaling deeply, she looked back up to face the man in front of her. “Outside school, the first time you gave me your umbrella,” she continued, her eyes drifting up momentarily to the black canopy sheltering them from above.  “I almost wrote you off as someone not worth knowing, and I would have never given you the time of day… if it hadn’t been for the rain.”

An intense fire began burning in her eyes, and Adrien could only watch, enraptured.

“And then yesterday, I managed to get caught in the rain.  It was supposed to be such an unlucky day, and in many ways, I was convinced it was, but then… then you were there, and then last night, and it was just like- there has to be something more about all this, about you and me… in the rain.”

She paused again, inhaling deep.

“And now.  Here we are, in the rain once again, with you, looking at me the way same you did when you stole me heart three years ago, telling me all my dreams are coming true and you really do want to be with me forever… someday,” she added, shrugging with an amused smile on her face.  “So when you ask me, Chaton,” she went on, stepping closer to the love of her life, “if I would say yes if you asked me to marry you _someday_ , then I can tell you, today, _every day_ , as sure as the rain all around us, that my answer will be _yes._ ”  

And with that she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a heated kiss and disrupting his balance.  The force of her impact sent their embrace off-kilter, and Adrien was too surprised to react quickly enough. With one hand he dropped the umbrella and grabbed her waist, with the other he reached out to cushion their landing as they both stumbled onto the concrete.  His arm held her protectively against himself, taking the brunt of the impact himself. The pouring rain drenched them both, from above as it fell on them, and from below as they lay sprawled out on the wet ground.

Blinking at each other through the water dripping in their eyes, both Adrien and Marinette laughed lightly at their situation.  Marinette was the first to get up, pulling the blond man up with her and teetering somewhat from the way his center of gravity unbalanced hers.  Both avoided another fall, however, and regained their footing once again, umbrella laying uselessly on the concrete.

Adrien reached down to grab it, holding it up over them despite the fact that they really couldn’t get much more soaked than they already were, causing Marinette to laugh.

“Leave it,” she told him, pulling it from his hand and holding it tightly to her side like the cherished symbol of love it had become.  Her other hand, she wrapped around his neck, pulling him down and capturing his lips, water still coming down all around them. When they broke apart, she only smiled and said, “I prefer the rain.”


	19. The Contest for Bigger Douche

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 19: Akumatized
> 
> Adrien hears about the time Marinette was almost akumatized, and she realizes she probably should have told him a lot sooner, or, you know, maybe not at all.

“Akumatized?!  You were almost  _ akumatized?! _ ”

Marinette flinched at the rage in Adrien’s voice.  She made the mistake of letting it slip that, because of Lila’s bullying, she had almost been akumatized in the past.  To say Adrien was angry would be an understatement. The fact she never told him made him furious, and it only made matters worse when he realized it was partly his fault for passively going along with Lila’s absurd, pathological lying.

As the girl watched, he breathed harshly, in and out, in and out, an almost frightening fire burning behind his usually benevolent eyes.

“How could you never tell me this?!”

Marinette stood, silent, unsure what to say to calm him down.

“I’ll Cataclysm her,” he said in a disembodied voice, staring at the open air with unseeing eyes.

“What?!” 

“It’ll be easy,” he went on, still not seeming to register his words or anything around him.  “There won’t be anything left of her. Hawkmoth will never be able to use her against us again.”

The noirette shook her head, placing hand on her partner’s arm.

“Chaton, you know that’s crazy… and wrong.  Mostly crazy, but still wrong. We’re not supposed to hurt, only help.  Purposely harming others… it would make us just as bad as them.”

Adrien’s gaze flicked up to hers, finally focusing on something solid.

“But we’d also be helping, if you think about it-” he tried, his voice weak, his own heroic conscience telling him just how awful of an idea it was.  Marinette returned his argument with a look. “Marinette,” he continued in a whisper, “I’m so sorry I failed you.”

Moisture gathered in his eyes, nearly brimming over as the girl before him watched, her heart clenching in her chest.  Raising her hands to his face, she pulled him closer. He lowered his gaze.

“Hey, look at me, Minou.”  Reluctantly, he complied. “You were a lot bigger person than I was then.  I shouldn’t have let myself get so worked up over someone I knew was unpredictable.  It was personal.” Marinette trailed off, blush coming to her cheeks. “I hated her lies, but I hated more that I thought she was using them to get close to you.  I felt po- possessive o- of you. I’m sorry, Adrien, I acted like you were mine, and it was so wrong-”

Tears welled in her eyes, her gaze dropping down, unable to face him in that moment.  How could she ever explain how much injustice she did him those first couple of years?  The way she felt like somehow she had a claim on him, the way she treated people who got too close to him?

“Hey,” he said, raising a hand to wipe away a tear from her cheek.  “Remember who you’re talking to? The guy who hounded you around the rooftops of Paris and wouldn’t take no for an answer?  I think I’ve earned a spot next to you in first place for being slightly douchey.”

A giggle escaped Marinette, voice slightly thick.

“I even was responsible for Copycat,” he admitted, cheeks turning slightly red at the confession.  The girl looked up in surprise to find a sheepish expression on her boyfriend’s face. “Theo was falling all over himself saying he wanted to tell you how much he adored you, and I got jealous, so I told him you and I were a thing.  I guess it was enough to get him akumatized.” At the end of his explanation, Adrien shrugged, but Marinette could see the shame in his eyes.

“Oh, mon Chaton,” she said, caressing his cheek softly with her hand.  The blond nuzzled further into her palm. “You and I are quite the pair, aren’t we?”  Then she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his lips and lowering her hand to entwine her fingers within his own.  “I’m sorry for all the times I unintentionally hurt you. I promise to spend the rest of my life trying to never hurt you again.”  Adrien smiled softly at her, his eyes roving over her features. “And I promise, if I ever almost get akumatized again, I’ll let you know.”

The fond expression on his face fell, replaced with a deadpan look.

“Too soon?” she asked, smiling sheepishly.

“Too soon, my lady,” he confirmed, closing his eyes and shaking his head as she laughed at his response.  “Too soon.”


	20. Adrien + Marinette = Adrinette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 20: Hamsters
> 
> Marinette and Adrien discuss their future pet. Alya and Nino are more than a little disturbed.

“Oh, Lord,” Alya lamented sarcastically, rolling her eyes in feigned exasperation as Marinette and Adrien walked out of the school’s front doors hand in hand.  Marinette looked at her friend with genuine confusion.

“What?”

“You two!” the redhead explained, gesturing between the couple in front of her.  “I swear to Jesus, I don’t think I ever see you _not_ somehow touching each other without being on the other side of the room, and even then- all that’s left is three kids and a pet dog.”

“Hamster,” two voices replied in tandem, making Alya’s eyes bug out of her head as she exchanged a look with Nino.  Marinette and Adrien looked at each other in surprise before bursting out laughing, the bespectacled girl in front of them shaking her head at the both of them.

“Lord Jesus help us all,” she murmured, turning to walk down the steps before it got too late to go out for lunch.  She didn’t have to see the people behind her to know they were following. “I swear, I know I’ve been team Adrinette all along, but you could at least be less disturbingly in tune with each other.  It’s gotten a bit weird at this point. I mean, have you seriously talked about what kind of pet you want to have already? Isn’t it a bit early for that?” she asked, turning for a second to give them a half-amused, half-quizzical look.

She wasn’t prepared for the way the two of them spoke together.

“Well, it’s just-” Marinette began, only for the sentence to be picked up by Adrien.

“-I’m not really a fan of dogs-”

“-and I always wanted a hamster!”

“And I like cats, but-”

“-he kind of already has one, and he’s a handful-”

“-and hamsters are so cute!”

“And they’re easy to take care of.”

Alya and Nino stopped midstride, dumbstruck at the way their friends had somehow managed to speak as though sharing a mind.

“You two have, like, morphed into one person, dude, and it’s freaking me out,” Nino finally said.

Alya couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from her lips, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth and suppress it the best she could, avoiding her friends’ embarrassed faces.  When she looked up again, Adrien was turning to face Marinette, taking the hand in his grip and pulling it behind his back as she copied his movement.

“That’s all right by me,” he said, smiling down at the raven-haired girl in front of him.  Marinette smiled back.

“Oh, I’ll bet, kitty,” she returned, mischievous light sparking in her eyes, smirk overtaking her features.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Alya intoned, face deadpan as Nino shook his head at the their two friends, who were suddenly locked at the lips, and probably would be for some time.

“Let’s get out of here,” Nino suggested.  “Their sappiness is probably contagious.”

Alya turned away from the happy couple and took Nino’s hand.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, babe.”


	21. The Lonely Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 21: Nightmare
> 
> Adrien has a nightmare, and Marinette has to help her kitten.

Adrien bolted upright in bed, breath coming in pants, sweat sliding down the sides of his face.  It took a few seconds, but when he realized he was home in his bed, he closed his eyes in relief, a hand dragging down his face.

He got out of bed and headed to his bathroom to splash some water on his face.  The coolness both woke him up and calmed him as he rubbed it into his bleary eyes.  As he towel-dried his face and turned off the restroom light, he could hear his phone ring.  Confused as to who could be calling him at the late hour, his brow furrowed, and he made his way over to the side of the bed, where his phone was resting on the nightstand.

On the screen, he could see _Buginette <3 is calling _, with the backdrop of a picture of Marinette laughing- her contact photo in his phone.  The image itself helped make him feel a bit more relaxed, and he lowered himself to the bed as he raised the phone to his face, sliding the icon to answer her call.

“Bug?  What’s going on?  Shouldn’t you be sleeping?  It’s pretty late.”

“Adrien,” she breathed, sounding slightly winded, “are you ok?  I woke up with this feeling like something was wrong. Did you have another nightmare?”

The blond sat there for a second, stupefied at how Marinette always seemed to know when he was feeling this way.  Swallowing, he answered.

“Yea, but it’s ok- I’m ok.  Jesus, Mari, you didn’t have to call.  You should get some sleep.”

“Mmm,” she hummed in reply, and he could practically see her snuggling into her soft, overstuffed pillows.  “When my kitty is upset, I’m upset. So tell me about it. What happened this time?”

Adrien exhaled a silent laugh, shaking his head at her stubbornness.

“Bug, we both know how much you value your sleep.  If you don’t go back to bed, you’re going to be extra tired in the morning.”

“I’m not going to bed until you go to bed,” she told him, no anger in her voice, but steadfast determination nonetheless.

Adrien sighed in resignation.

“It was about my mother,” he stated quietly.  Marinette stayed silent. “She was looking everywhere for me, but every time I turned around, she disappeared.  I could hear her calling me, but when I tried to call back, nothing came out. Everywhere I looked, I only saw wisps of blonde hair, then nothing.  Then I woke up.”

“Oh, Minou, I’m so sorry.  I love you. I promise, someday we’ll find out what happened to your mother.”

Adrien pivoted and laid back on his pillows, feet raising up to rest on the mattress as tears began to flow.

“I love you, too,” he said in a voice thick with tears, unable to suppress a sniffle.

“Adrien, just- hold on, can you hold on a minute?”

“Ok,” he mumbled, eyes watching the dark ceiling towering so high above him.  Then the call was lost, and he pulled his phone away from his ear, frowning at it in confusion before setting it to the side.  She would call him back once she realized it dropped, or, if he was lucky, she would go back to sleep and get the rest she needed. He probably wasn’t going to get much for the rest of the night.

Adrien rolled over onto his side, toying with the cases of the pillows beside his head, rubbing the double layers of fabric between the pads of his fingers to soothe himself.  He wasn’t lying like that long when he heard a subtle tap, like the sound of a rubber mallet lightly bumping against class.

Surprised, he turned to look at his window, only to be met with the sight of a red and black spotted hero on the other side of the planes.  He scrambled out of bed and unlocked the window, holding it open to let his girlfriend in. She stepped through the breach in a flash of pink sparkles, emerging on the other side as Marinette instead of Ladybug.

“Princess, what are you doing here?  The cameras will catch you.”

“Silly kitty,” she replied, tapping his nose lightly with her fingertip.  “I took out the cameras. But don’t worry, I made it look like an accident.”

Adrien chuckled slightly, relieved he wasn’t about to be grounded for cavorting around with one half of Paris’ hero duo.  He trailed Marinette to the bed as Tikki flew off to find Plagg, noticing that she was still dressed in her pajamas. She spun quickly and plopped backward onto the sheets, holding out an arm in invitation.

“Here, kitty, kitty.”

Warmth spread in Adrien’s chest, and he found himself collapsing on top of her, barely remembering to temper his weight as he nuzzled his face into her neck, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pulling her against him.  Her scent was all around him- flowers, vanilla, and strawberries, and something so distinctly her. He could feel the heat radiating from her body, mingling with his own and flooding his body with a sense of calm and safe and home.

Eyes closed, he squeezed her tighter, the purr in his chest sputtering at first, then growing steadier until it vibrated both of their bodies soothingly.

“I don’t want you to go,” Adrien said, nuzzling just a little deeper.

“I’m not going anywhere, kitty, not for anything in the world.”


	22. Some Things Don't Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 22: Aged Up
> 
> There's a new Ladybug and Chat Noir film being produced, and there are some noticeable differences to the lead actors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for being patient with me, guys! I've been swamped with work, and school, and home stuff. I have finals coming up in a couple of weeks!
> 
> I've already written the last few prompts for the month, but there are a few between after day 22 that I haven't done yet. I plan to finish them and post them today! So, stay posted! Updates will be coming this evening!
> 
> Happy last day of April! <3 Muse

“Marinette!”

Alya’s excited voice carried over the din of people around her, and she could see the redhead shoving her way through the crowded school hallway, phone raised in her hand.

Her beaming, excited face finally broke through, and she shoved the device in front of Marinette’s eyes.

“Did you see this?!” Alya exclaimed, pulling the phone back to look at it again before thrusting back into her friend’s face.  “They’re making another Ladybug and Chat Noir movie!”

Marinette involuntarily cringed, remembering the fiasco at the premiere of the first one.  Then there was a shadow falling over her, and an arm came to rest around her shoulders.

“Yea, did you see that, princess?” a familiar male voice asked right next to her ear, blond hairs appearing in the side of her vision as her boyfriend leaned in to look at the phone.  “They’re making another film about… them.”

Alya was so excited about the news, taking her phone back to look at the promo pictures, that she didn't’ even notice the amused tone of Adrien’s voice.  Marinette shook her head at the both of them, turning to greet her boyfriend properly- with her lips- before finding a bright screen assaulting her vision again.

“Holy shit, Ladybug looks _hot!_ ” the interrupting girl shouted, and Marinette’s view was taken over by red and black and not much else.

Confused, she pulled out her phone just as the bell rang.

“Gotta go.  See you in class, girl!” her friend called, and Marinette absentmindedly waved, typing in a search for stills of the new film.  Adrien suppressed a laugh beside her as she gasped at what she saw.

“We’re… aged up?” she asked, and Adrien couldn’t help the chuckle that finally escaped.

“Speak for yourself, bug,” he teased, amusement ringing in his voice, “I’m just as tall as I was in the last movie. _You_ on the other hand-”

But he was cut off by a smack to the arm, causing him to break down into light giggles.

Marinette gazed down at the imaged before slightly in horror.  This was what they thought she would look like when she was older?

She was much… bigger in the chest.

Self-consciously, the girl looked down at her humble breasts, wondering if there was some sort of requirement of being particularly well-endowed in the bust department to be a cinematic female superhero.

Adrien hooked a finger under her chin, lifting her face to look at him.

“Hey, Bugaboo, don’t give it another thought.  It’s a stupid, misogynistic marketing tactic. There’s nothing wrong with you.  I like you exactly the way you are.”

The raven-haired girl felt all the tension in her shoulders melt away, and she slumped in something like relief.  If Adrien wanted her to be any different than she was naturally, she didn’t know what she would do. Both his hands came to rest on her hips, pulling her closer until he pressed a kiss to her forehead, just as the tardy bell began to ring.

“Come on,” he said, moving to the side to allow her to preceded him toward the classroom.  As she did so, he leaned into her ear and whispered: “And, princess, while i adore your absolutely perfect rack, I’m really more of an ass man myself, and believe me when I say, the view from back here is _incredible_.”

Marinette felt her cheeks turn crimson, and as she walked slightly forward, there was a light but firm smack on her backside, which made her blush even worse.

Walking into the room to the hoots and hollers of her best friend, Marinette sat down in her chair, electing to hide her face behind her hands while Adrien smirked in front of them.


	23. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 23: Fashion Show
> 
> Adrien has a surprise in store for Marinette.

“Adrien Agreste, if you don’t tell me where we’re going right now, I-”

Suddenly, Marinette could see again, and she squinted, blinking, against the onslaught of brightness.  As she turned her head around, taking in her surroundings, she wondered exactly where they could possibly be.

It was a large room, almost cavernous, but she had no idea even what building they were in.  When Adrien showed up at her doorstep with a blindfold and a promise for an exciting surprise, she hesitantly went along with it.  But after a pretty lengthy car ride, and a stubborn Adrien refusing to allow her to peek, followed by a trek into some building somewhere she assumed was downtown, and then a trip in some sort of elevator, finally culminating in this arrival at some vague, large…

...room full of clothes.

Room full of _new_ clothes.

Room full of _new, couture_ clothes.

With a giant _Agreste_ emblem on the far giant wall.

Marinette could feel a deep shriek inside her, building up and rising to the surface like the whistle of a tea kettle.

Adrien watched her in pleased silence, simply standing by as she walked cautiously forward, the noise in her throat still growing louder until she crouched down on bent knees excitedly, elbows cocked and fists clenched by her face as she screeched like a dying bird.  Her tense, coil-like position snapped like a spring, and she suddenly jumped up, exalting the air with her arms fully extended, whirling around and throwing herself at her surprised boyfriend. He wrapped his arms instinctively around her waist, catching her before she landed back on the ground and laughing as she cocked her knees, bringing up her feet in her fit of excitement.

When he set her back on the floor, the grin on her face was almost too much for him to take.

“I take it you like it?”

Her eyes shone, and she nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes!”

The blond man chuckled.

“But, you haven’t gotten your surprise yet.”

Marinette’s expression froze, her eyes slightly wide as she took in his words.

“...What?”

Adrien laugh a little louder, pleased, smug smile on his lips.

“Your surprise.  Did you think just bringing you here was your surprise?”

The girl nodded, jaw hanging open, but mute.  He shook his head.

“You see, princess, the reason I’m bringing you here is because…”

He trailed off dramatically, watching her with severe amusement as she visibly started to shake from anticipation.

“You get to pick _anything_.”

A vacant look took over Marinette’s eyes as they traveled out to look across the enormous stock room of undebuted clothing.  Adrien wondered if her brain had semi-shut down.

“But… _what?_ ”

The girl jumped slightly as he suddenly appeared next to her face, expression fond.

“I want you to pick _anything_ you want because…”

He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw a vein beginning to burgeon on his girlfriend’s forehead from impatience.

“You’re going to need something to wear, you see, at the Agreste fashion show for this year’s Paris Fashion Week.”

Then Marinette’s arms were around his neck again, and she was launching at him with her entire body, unable to hold in the squeal of excitement, and bowling them over onto the floor.

Despite the bruise he was going to have on his behind, Adrien couldn’t help the laugh that emerged from deep within his chest.  He lifted his face to look at her shining eyes, so close to his own.

“I take it you like your surprise?”

Her only answer was the hard pressure of her lips on his.  They pressed firmly against his own, almost painful with the forcefulness of their movement, but Adrien didn’t complain.  And as she ran her tongue along his lip, sucking on it enough to leave more than one part of his body swollen, he decided he could live with a little bruising.


	24. Rhymes with Cockblock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 24: Bridal Style
> 
> An akuma strikes at the Agreste fashion show, and Marinette activates Save Adrien mode.

“Marinette,” Adrien murmured, face bright red, “you can put me down now.”

The girl carrying her own boyfriend bridal style in her arms look at the blushing face in front of her, suddenly aware of herself, and hastily set him down.

“I’m sorry, Adrien.  Are you ok? Can you walk?”

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” he told her, half his mouth lifted in a smile as he cupped her cheek with his hand and pressed his lips to hers.  “I’m a little turned on,” he admitted as he pulled back, shrugging his shoulders and smirking at her embarrassment, “but otherwise, I’m fine.”

The raven-haired girl gave him a look, glad she had brought them to an empty room while everyone inside the venue panicked and ran for the exit doors at the first sign of an akuma.  Adrien, walking on the catwalk, was knocked over by a sudden quake, and twisted his ankle. Despite being out of costume and very much dressed in an expensive Agreste original, she leaped up on the stage and carried him off in her arms to safety.

“You know, Chaton, maybe  _ I _ should be calling  _ you _ ‘princess.’”

Adrien was leaning closer, his lips tickling her own as he smiled against her mouth.

“You can call me whatever you want, my lady.”

“Ah, ah,” she tutted, pushing him back with a finger to his nose.  “Akuma first.”

The man across from her looked disappointed, his mouth twitching slightly.

“Goddamn Hawkmoth,” he muttered, “More like Cockblock.”  Then he punched the air and called, “Plagg, claws out!”

Marinette smiled.

“There’s my good kitty.”

And after giving her partner a kiss, she called for her transformation.  And if Adrien fought the akuma with a little more motivation than usual, she didn’t say anything about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> super short, but I felt like the goal was achieved ^_^


	25. Not A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 25: Protect
> 
> Adrien doing what he does best: protecting his lady and getting in trouble for it.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette!  I wasn’t thinking, I just jumped in the way!  The only thing I could think about what that I had to protect you.”

Marinette’s back remained stubbornly turned toward him, her shoulders beginning to shake.  Adrien stood helplessly, his arms stretched out pointlessly in the air as she refused to respond.  Suddenly, the blond could feel frustration welling up in him.

“No, you know what?  I’m not sorry!”

Marinette whirled around in shock.

“Because if I hadn’t done that, maybe you wouldn’t be here!  Goddammit, Marinette, it almost crushed you! How is this any different than any of the times you’ve risked yourself to save me?”

Tears continued to slide down her face, and she stepped forward, bringing the top of her head to rest against her partner’s chest as she reached up to desperately grasp his arms in her hands.

“ _Because-_ ” she said, her voice breaking in sobs, “ _you’ve- never- seen- me- die- before._ ”

Adrien’s eyes closed in understanding.  He knew there were memories Marinette carried that he could never imagine, times when akuma battles went horribly wrong, starting with Timebreaker so many years before.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” he whispered.  “I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to lose you and then have to live with that memory.  But you know what? I don’t want to. And maybe that’s selfish of me, but you know what else? No matter what happens to me, I believe in you to fix it.  I don’t have that power. And if you don’t manage to get me back, then I’d rather die for you than live without you.” He squeezed his eyes shut then, tears falling against her hair.  “Please don’t ask me to do that. I can’t.”

Marinette drew back, looking into his face with red, swollen eyes.

“So the next time you’re standing the in the way of a crushing object, you can bet your Lucky Charm that I’m jumping in the way to protect you.  It’s what I do. It’s the whole reason I exist, to make sure you’re ok and you _stay that way._ ”

Then she scoffed, pulling away slightly.

“A little chauvinistic, don’t you think, Minou?”

“ _Absolutely_.”

Sniffling, she sighed, her arms crossing in front of her chest as she looked to the floor.

“I’m sorry, too.  I know I would do the same for you.”

Adrien mimicked her sigh, pulling her against his chest once again.

“Please, love, promise me, if it comes ever down to you or me, you’ll save yourself.”

Marinette let out a soggy giggle, raising her eyes to look into his eyes.

“Not a chance, Chaton.”

His eyes widened for a second, his brain processing.

“Was that… a _pun_ , dear buginette?”

The girl in his arms groaned, raising her hands to cover her face.

“I regret everything,” she said, voice muffled.

“You know,” Adrien began, “they say chance only favours those who-”

But the rest of the saying was lost to history, not that Adrien was complaining.

His lips were a little busy, after all.


	26. Every Day With You Is A Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 26: Civilian Heroes
> 
> Being heroic is first nature for Marinette and Adrien- even outside the suits.

Adrien slowly opened his eyes, an intense and painful pounding in his head.

The first thing he noticed was that he couldn’t move, the second that there was something hard and stiff around his neck.

And though most of his vision was dominated by white ceiling, he could see in his peripheral several things- an IV drip, white railings on either side of the bed he was laying on, a marker board with some details and directions written on it, and a small wall of windows to one side, the opposite wall clearly having a door.

By inductive reasoning, he realized he was in a hospital bed.

As his eyes fluttered open, temporarily irritated with the fluorescent lights overhead, he heard low voices whispering.

“I think he’s waking up.”

“Marinette, don’t get too clo-”

That person’s sentence abruptly cut off, and he felt the pressure of a body lowering itself onto the space beside him before bluebell eyes and midnight hair overtook his vision.  Even in his state of almost paralysis, he could feel his heart flutter.

“Mari-” he croaked, throat painful and dry.  She turned to the side, then there was a straw lifted to his lips, and he drank, eyes closing gratefully at the cool, pleasing sensation.

“Thank you.”

Marinette smiled down at him.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.”

“What happened?” he asked, still unsure, though his brain was beginning to emerge from the drug-induced haze he was in.

Just then, a tall, pale blond form approached from his other side.  Shifting his head as much as possible, he looked into his father’s face, noticing for the first time he could remember, signs of dishevelment- the subtle displacement of hair, a slight wrinkle to his clothes, and dark circles under his eyes.

“You were struck.  By a bus,” the tall, impassive man answered, the only indication of his concern an almost unnoticeable crack in his voice.

“We were walking when I noticed a little girl run into the street.  There was a bus coming, and her mother was too far to catch her in time.  I pushed her out of the way, but then you pushed  _ me _ out of the way, and it hit you.”

“You have a slight brain hemmorage,” his father intoned, “but doctors say no surgery is required.  Under monitoring, it should resolve on its own.”

Memories were slowly coming back.

“Are you ok?” Adrien couldn’t help but ask, flitting his eyes over to look once again at Marinette.

Her surprised expression met his concerned gaze.

“I’m fine, really.  I got away with a few cuts on my legs, but you saved us both.”

As she finished her sentence, she smiled down at him.

“You’re being hailed as civilian heroes,” his father added, “and the media has been wanting to interview you, but of course, I have expressly forbid any intrusions while you recover.”

Without thinking, Adrien reached out as best he could to grab his father’s hand.

“Thank you, father.”

Gabriel looked surprised for a moment, but then regained his usual expression of composure, clearing his throat before stepping back.

“I am glad that you are getting better, son.  I have some work to attend to. I’ll make sure to have Nathalie update me on your progress until you are well enough to return home.”

And with that, he turned and walked out of the room.

Adrien lay there in stunned silence, almost forgetting the other person in the room.

“Are you ok, Chaton?”

Startled by her voice, he jolted somewhat in the bed.  Marinette grabbed the remote, raising him up just slightly so that he could look around more easily.

“You should be out of here in a few days.  The neck brace is mostly a precaution, to help you not to strain yourself while you’re healing.”  Then she laughed as though amused. “We’re being called heroes on the news. Only as ourselves this time.  A little ironic, don’t you think?”

Adrien snorted, squeezing her hand in his and looking directly in her bright blue eyes.

“You’re always a hero in my book,” he said.  “Suit or no suit, every day with you is miraculous.”


	27. Anything For The Ones I Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 27: Marinette and the Agreste(s)
> 
> Adrien has a difficult experience, and an unlikely person comes to the rescue.

Marinette watched, tense, as Adrien sat, clearly uncomfortable, in the chair.

They had consented to being interviewed, well,  _ Adrien _ did, because that was the person they wanted to speak to most- not only was he the famous one, but he also was the one of them that actually got hit by a bus saving someone else.

The fact that Marinette jumped in front of it first to save the little girl was glossed over by the reporter interviewing them, and before long, his questions turned away from the accident itself and more toward personal topics.

Now, he was asking Adrien about an even more personal topic- his absent and missing mother.

“Adrien,” the man began, face contorting with contrived concern, “it’s been more than five years since your mother disappeared one day without a trace, yet you and your father have managed to go on about your lives and business as though it never happened.  Tell me, what is it like to be in such a public position when going through something so traumatic?”

The blond male suddenly appeared very small, shrinking in on himself as though trying to disappear himself.  He stuttered for a moment, cheeks turning red as his hand found its way to the back of his neck in his typical nervous manner.

Then there was almost a flurry of movement and whispering, and Gabriel Agreste emerged onto the stage where Adrien and the reporter were sitting.

“This interview is over,” he told the man coldly, who gaped up at him like a dying fish, face paling under the furious glare of the fashion magnate.

“F- father-” Adrien stammered, and then he was being pulled to his feet and ushered off the stage.  Marinette waited, stunned into silence, as Adrien made his way to her, wrapping himself up in her arms and letting out a shuddering breath while Gabriel returned to the set to take the reporter down so many pegs, he was nearly underground.

That was one journalist who likely wouldn’t have a job in the morning.

Unconcerned about those events, the noirette pulled her boyfriend in tighter.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien.  I should have known. When they didn’t want to hear about the whole story, I should have known-”

“Don’t concern yourself about it, mademoiselle,” a cool voice intoned from somewhere above both of their heads.  She looked up into Gabriel’s passive grey eyes. “They are piranhas. They would have done the same with or without you present, and likely would have accused you of everything from using Adrien for his name to having his illegitimate children.”

Marinette blushed at the last bit, nodding without saying a word.  Adrien, still clinging to her, turned with red eyes to his father.

“Thank you, father.”

For the first time Marinette could remember, she detected a softening in the older man’s expression.

“I would do anything for my family,” he replied, eyes flickering over to the girl in front of him.  “I hope you feel the same.”

Once again, she nodded.

“I would do anything for the ones I love.”

He nodded to her, just once, and then the whirlwind that was Gabriel Agreste disappeared.  Adrien’s bodyguard suddenly stepped out of the shadows, leading them out of the building and toward the car.

“Your father can be very intimidating, Adrien,” she managed, half scared and half amused at their whole interaction.  “But sometimes, I think that’s a good thing.”

“Yea,” Adrien said on a laugh.  “Tell me about it. Let’s just hope he uses his powers for good, not evil.”

The two of them laughed at that, then descended into the waiting limo and made their way quietly home.


	28. The Beginning Of The End (We’ve Only Just Begun)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 29: Adrien Dupain-Cheng
> 
> Adrien isn't sure he wants to be an Agreste anymore.

Cameras clicked and lights flashed, temporarily blinding Marinette and Adrien as they forced their way into the side door of her parent’s bakery, leading up to the apartment.

Newsstands all along the streets they walked had been overloaded with magazines headlining the Agreste name, accompanied by pictures of Adrien and his father, and stories describing the shocking story of Gabriel Agreste’s secret crimes as Hawkmoth, villain of Paris.

As if their world hadn’t been rocked enough, the media wouldn’t leave them alone.

Adrien sunk dejectedly onto the couch in the living room as Marinette pulled all the curtains closed, her mother disappearing with a concerned expression into the kitchen, the bakery closed because of the excessive attention and problems with trespassing reporters.  Hand over his eyes, he did his best to block out the world, fighting against the tears of anger and frustration threatening to fall.

Wasn’t it enough he had to fight against his own father by his girlfriend’s side?  That they had to be the ones responsible to arrest him and bring him to justice, that he had to discover that his mother had been below him for years, not lost in some unknown place in the wide world, impossible to ever find?

A soft touch brought him back to the world around him as Marinette pulled his hand down with her own, her eyes noticeably moist, her brow furrowed in concern.

“Oh, Kitty-”

Adrien surged forward, burying his face in her neck and chest, clinging to her with all the strength left in his body as the dam finally broke.  His body wracked with sobs, heaving, painful sobs, as he squeezed her desperately, tighter than he ever had before. Her soothing fingers ran through his hair, and he realized there were small drops of something wet on his forehead, the tears Marinette herself was crying.

After long moments, his sobs weakened into quiet whimpers, and he pulled slightly back, resting the side of his head on her tiny shoulder, eyes bloodshot and throat raw.  Two more pairs of arms came into contact with his back and sides, and he became aware of one giant man and one tiny woman wrapping the two of them up in an embrace.

“It’s ok, son, you’re safe,” a deep voice comforted him.

“We love you, honey.  It’s ok. It’s going to be ok,” a more feminine one consoled.

Adrien inhaled deeply, then released the shaky breath.

“I don’t have a home anymore, or a family,” he mumbled, numbness creeping into his chest and his voice.

“Of course you do!” Marinette cried, the sound of her exclamation oddly sonorous as it vibrated against his ear, echoing within her chest.

“Mari’s right, son,” Tom added.  “You’re family to us. If you weren’t already a legal age, hell, I’d adopt you.”

Despite his intense grief, Adrien found himself giggling at the thought, and the myriad of arms holding him close loosened their grip, allowing him to pull back and look at the three people in front of him.

“Adrien Dupain-Cheng.  Wouldn’t that make Marinette my sister?”

Said girl’s jaw dropped open, scandalized.

“Chaton, you take that back this instant!”

Adrien’s giggled intensified until he couldn’t control it, and he leaned against the couch as hysteria seemingly took over him.  Eventually, he calmed down, looking up to see the Dupain-Chengs watching him with love and concern.

“Nah, I’ll save that for when we’re married.”

Marinette, despite her best efforts, blushed deep crimson as her father let out a loud guffaw, her mother’s face crinkling in amusement.

A giant, heavy hand landed on Adrien’s back, causing him to almost pitch forward.  A pair of twinkling green eyes looked back at him.

“Well, you’re already family, son.  Now you just have to make it official.”

Adrien smiled, finally able to see the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, a ray of hope shining through.


	29. Pound It (Literally)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 29: Bien Joue
> 
> Adrien finds a new use for their customary fist bump.

Marinette flopped back onto the bed, sweaty, exhausted and physically spent from the exertion of her and Adrien’s “celebration” of moving in together.  Beside her a grinning blond with sleepy eyes reached out to wipe the hair off her sticky forward. Closing her eyes on an exhale, she turned her head in his direction and reopened them, a satisfied smile spreading over her face.

“Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?” he asked without warning, causing her to blush and shake her head.

“Says the literal model.”

Adrien continued to smile at her, a small chuckle escaping from his throat.

“You should be model, because I’d study you all day long.”

Marinette laughed at his silliness, her heart still racing within her as she looked over the crinkle in his eyes, the bright green shining back at her, golden curtain of hair falling over his face.

“You know, my lady,” he suddenly said, cutting off her thoughts, “I think that was so exceptional, it justified a fist bump.”

Marinette watched him, her eyes narrowing.  Adrien’s grin turned mischievous as he raised a closed hand.

“Bien joue?”

The look his girlfriend gave him was deadpan.

“You’ve ruined the moment.”

“Aw, come on, princess!  For old time’s sake?”

The noirette rolled her eyes, turning her entire body toward him and raising a fist.  If possible, the smile on Adrien’s face grew even wider.

“Yes!” he called, bringing his fist up to meet her own.

“Bien joue!”


	30. Meant It Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 30: Us Against the World
> 
> Adrien has a proposal for Marinette.

Marinette noticed Adrien watching her out of the corner of her eye as they sat tangled up on the couch, her legs scissored around his and one of his arms around her shoulder, the other stretched forward to hold her hand.  Mouth quirking in amusement, she turned away from the television screen and looked into the green eyes so close to her own, gulping somewhat at their thoughtful expression.

“Something to say, Chaton?”

Adrien sat there for a second longer, not saying anything, causing Marinette to frown slightly.

“Elope with me,” he suddenly said, and though it was worded like a commanded, it came out more like a request, almost whisper-soft.

The girl half-on and half-beside him was visibly taken aback, doing her best to look him in the face when her visual field didn’t stretch far enough.

“... _What?_ ”

“I want to marry you.  I don’t see any reason we have to wait.  Let’s run off to Monte Carlo or something and just get married.”

She could feel her eyebrows shoot to her hairline, completely floored by his train of thought.

“Adrien- but we- we’re- we _just_ moved in together- we’re 19!  It’s too soon!”

“Says who?” he countered, silencing her objections as she seriously considered his words.  “The media? Society? The world? I couldn’t care less about what anyone thinks. I’ve loved you since the moment I first saw you, and nothing could ever take that away.”  He raised the arm around her shoulders and began fingering her earring. “Besides, we’ve got something no one else could ever understand. We’re meant for each other. You’re it for me, and you always will be.”

Marinette sat there, quietly watching him as she subconsciously played with the ring he wore on the hand that still lay entwined with her own in her lap.

“Chaton- but- there’s _so much_ to consider about a wedding.  Our friends, my parents- I don’t know if we’re-”

“We’re ready, my lady.  At least, I’m ready. I’ve always been ready to start a life with you.  And, yea, it would be nice to have Alya and Nino there, and your mom and dad, too, but I just want to make you mine as soon as possible.  Nothing else matters. They will understand. Besides, we can always have a big party, too, and do it all over again later.” Adrien grinned at the thought.  “I wouldn’t mind in the least.”

Marinette could feel her resolve crumbling as every one of her reservations melted away.

“But… what about…”

“It’s us against the world, princess.  You and me. And let’s be honest,” he added, one half of his mouth quirking into a smirk.  “We are kind of superheroes. The world doesn’t stand a chance.”

A slow smile spread over Marinette’s features as Adrien’s eyes flicked down to her lips.  He leaned closer, and she could feel herself willingly giving in to him- body and soul.

“Ok, Chaton,” she whispered against his lips just before they met, eyes fluttering shut.  “Elope with you I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's IT, everyone! END of Adrinette April! Thanks for sticking with me and reading all the way through! I appreciate every comment, kudos, and hit! I plan to participate in Marichat May, too (ahh!! My favorite ship <3) so stay tuned!
> 
> <3 Muse

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it in a comment!
> 
> <3 Muse


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